Vacation
by ImaginAries
Summary: A CBTrigun Crossover Fic- The Crew of CB go on vacation and end up on the planet home of the Trigun cast- if anything, it'll be humorous (12 is up! XD)
1. Part 1: All Aboard the BeBop

****Author's Note** I do not own anyone or any rights to the animation or mangas of Trigun or Cowboy BeBop- I'm not making money off of this nor am I profiting in any other way than my own personal enjoyment of writing new stories and plot lines for these awesome characters…so please, have a doughnut, some milk, and don't sue me…****J******

**In the tradition of Cowboy BeBop, I'm going to stick with the use of a song title for the title of the story.  The title right now is going to be 'Vacation', but if anyone can think of a better one, please, suggest it to me ^_^ **

**Session Unknown: Vacation**

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**Part One:**

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**All aboard the BeBop**

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                "Ed found it!" A triumphant cry came from behind a tower of boxes stacked inside the hold of a space cruiser known as the Cowboy BeBop.

            With the boxes thumping and rattling, a slender form wriggled free from the confines and jumped up revealing a slightly tanned face holding a wide grin.  At first glance it would be very difficult to distinguish if the young kid was a boy or a girl; hell, it was even difficult to figure it out after several glances. The thing was tall and shapeless, with loose and limber limbs, thick orange-red hair, big brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. However, contrary to popular belief on board the ship, this kid was a girl.

            Clutched in her hand was a travel guide, slightly crinkled and crumpled and dirtied by what looked to be leftover noodles. 

            "Oooooh, somebody didn't clean their plate last night!" Ed mused, walking in her unusual flowing catlike way towards the hold. "Travel far, travel wide, fly fly into the sky!!" she proclaimed in a sing songy voice, entering the room where the rest of the crew sat.

            They seemed bored out of their minds and paid no attention to the ship's resident eccentric when she entered the room. A young woman lay sprawled across a chair, her head tilted back with an arm thrown dramatically over her forehead. She pouted her red lips, crossing her legs and sighed heavily.

            "How on earth can there be no bounties right now? This has got to be the most boring day of my life!"

            "Faye Faye…" Ed murmured with a tiny giggle, slinking over to the woman clad in yellow-gold. 

            Faye ignored the little girl, running a hand over the orange headband in her purple-black hair. "Jet, isn't there anything out there for us to take?"

            In response, a big bulky man, (bulky in muscles that is) turned his head and scratched his cheek. "Nothin' but small fry bounties right now, which is nothin' worth even going after."

            His voice was gruff, his eyes focused straight ahead across the small table between the couch he sat on and the one being occupied by another, younger man. There was a chess board on top of the table, and a game in progress it seemed, but the second man had yet to make a move. In fact, he had simply lay back onto the couch, pulled a set of headphones on, and began to close his eyes.

            "Spike! It's your move you can't go to sleep now!"

            The man with the headphones uncrossed his long legs and opened his eyes, turning his head with a nonchalant expression over his face. 

            "Sorry Jet, but playing checkers nine times in a row and beating you at it is getting a little repetitive, if you know what I mean."

            Looking a bit upset, forming an 'o' with his lips, Jet put his pointer finger up and retaliated. 

            "But this is the game I'm going to win, you can't do that!"

            Ed slunk around the room, parading the travel guide in her hand high above her head. Getting their attention was so difficult sometimes. 

            "Travel far, travel wide, fly, fly into space and sky! Faye, Faye! Spi-ike! Jet! Vrooom!" she giggled, spreading her arms out and ran, circling them all until someone noticed her presence.

            Faye was the first to look up- she probably paid more attention to Ed than the other two did. 

            "Huh? Ed, what are you doing? What's in your hand, a piece of garbage? Disgusting…"

            "Garbage?" Ed stopped the somersaults she'd been launching into, sitting cross legged on the floor. "Not a piece of garbage, a super fantastical get away! Palm trees, ocean breeze and more, whoa-ho-o-o-o-o!"

            Arching an eyebrow, Faye leaned over, snatching the crinkled guide from the strange girl's hand and gazed at it for a long time. It advertised a beautiful get away on one of the less heard of planets, and the pictures were so warm and inviting it instantly made the young woman want to grab the control handles of the BeBop and fly. 

            "Oh! Ed you genius you! This is what we need! Boredom-free!"

            Spike opened one eye as Faye walked in front of her, prepared to kick him in the side if need be. 

            "What is it?" He asked, knowing he had better respond somehow to her presence or risk a sore side.

            "Sand and water, skies of blue sunny sun sunshine!" Ed chimed in, rolling about the floor once more, pulling her green goggles over her eyes. 

            "A vacation?" Jet asked shortly, crossing his arms over his wide chest, arching a black pointed eyebrow. "I dunno Faye, if that's such a good idea or not."

            Faye pouted again, prepared to throw one of her dramatic tantrums. "Oh come on Jet.  A vacation is perfect right about now- the BeBop is in prime shape for once, nothing needs repairs, we're more than good on rations…and there's only small fry bounties out there right now, you said so yourself."

            Slowly Spike sat up, pulling his headphones down around his neck. "She has a point Jet."

            "Huh?" the older man looked a little perplexed- Spike wasn't one to agree with Faye. 

            "Fun in the sun, skies blue with birdies, swim swim in the rain and get ra-a-ainbows!" the red-orange haired girl currently balancing on an unseen tightrope chirped aloud. 

            They ignored her once more as Jet fought a losing battle. "We're perfectly fine here, we don't need a vacation, there's plenty to do."

            Slamming her hands down on the table, shaking the checker pieces, Faye glared at Jet.

            "You call sitting here watching you and Spike play never ending games of who knows what plenty to do? Sitting on a beach with a warm sun drinking mai-tais and going to casinos and tracks is my idea of a good time, Jet."

            Before she could be answered, Spike piped up. "Tell you what Jet- I'll finish this game with you. If you win, we don't go…if I win, well…that's obvious, isn't it?"

            Feeling quite confident now, Jet grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Deal…it's your move Spike."

            Without hesitation, the thin young man leaned over, reaching around Faye to take his bishop and slide it directly towards Jet's king, knocking away the rook in it's path.

            "Check-mate. Pack your bags Jet, it looks like we're going on a vacation."

            At the wonderful news, Faye darted off to wherever her quarters were as Ed leapt onto the chair and grinned.

            "Whee! Vacation in the sunny sun sunshiny wonderlands! Ooooh!"


	2. Part 2: Trigun Express

**Vacation**

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**Part Two**

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**Trigun Express**

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            The sound of several doughnuts being wolfed down rather noisily, lips smacking topping it off was the source of the other three's attention.  A young looking man with spiky blond hair, bright aqua green eyes, and wearing a long, flowing red trench coat eagerly stuffed the golden brown pastry cakes into his mouth.  Sitting around him were his companions- two young women-(one petite with short black hair, the other big and tall with light brown hair)- and a young priest wearing black clothing which matched his hair color.  

            The priest leaned his cheek on one hand, elbow propped on the table and spoke smoothly around a crinkled cigarette in his mouth. 

            "Yes my friends- this doughnut loving pretty boy before you is none other than the legendary ace gunman…the man who instills fear into everyone who hears his name spoken…the one and only Vash the Stampede."

            Stopping mid-chew, mouth full, the blond man glared at the priest. "Who're you calling a pretty boy?! That wasn't very nice, Wolfwood!"

            "Do you see any other pretty men in here, I think it's pretty obvious needle-noggin." The priest said with a slight smirk on his lips as he exhaled a stream of smoke.

            The brunette girl, blue-green eyes alight, spoke brightly. "Mr. Vash isn't a pretty boy- in fact he's just a handsome young man, wouldn't you agree Meryl?"

            Turning her head away, looking slightly flustered, the petite young woman known as Meryl Stryfe responded to her friend's question the best way she could think of. 

            "It doesn't matter what he looks like he's still just a broom-head to me."

            Having swallowed the remnants of the doughnuts, Vash blinked in mock hurt, defending himself by whining, just as he always would. 

            "Aw man, why are you guys always so mean to me? You're always picking on me and making fun, it's not fair!"

            Meryl clapped a hand on her forehead as the dark haired priest snuffed his cigarette butt against the sole of his shoe, replying to Vash's remark.

            "Well if you weren't such an air head sometimes we wouldn't have much reason to make fun of you. Besides, who else would we pick on, everyone else here is pretty much normal."

            Speechless, and completely unable to come up with an argument for his own sake, the blond haired man sat there with a goofy expression until they were all four lurched forward out of their seats.  The table slid halfway across the floor, creating a terrible groaning sound of metal on wood, and their chairs did the same thing. Lying in a tangled heap, Vash shook the dizziness from his head, took a moment, and then cried out in a mad panic.

            "Earthquake! Oh no! We're all gonna die!"

            Unfazed, the other three picked themselves up from the floor, dusting off their clothes and set eyes on the truly pathetic looking mess of red cloth and blond hair still lying there. 

            "You dolt, that was just the Sand-steamer stopping! Haven't you noticed that we're not moving anymore?" Meryl lashed out at him as Milly made to pick Vash up off the floor.

            Wolfwood chuckled, lighting another cigarette as he kicked a chair back to its standing position and sat down in it. He didn't know how this bumbling idiot could possibly be Vash the Stampede, but it had been proved time and time again that he was the one and only. However, there were times where the blond man in the red coat did not act this way.  There was a sad seriousness in those eyes of his, which were sometimes hidden behind circle framed yellow sunglasses, and it hurt to see him like that and not know why he was so depressed.

            Of course, when a person had a sixty billion double dollar bounty on his head for doing something he couldn't even remember doing, well, it was grounds to drag a person's morale down a bit.  From what Vash's three companions could tell, the poor man never did anything wrong and yet trouble always followed him. They were desperately hoping for a break, though, praying that while on the move toward New Oregon that nothing of trouble would follow them. 

            Calling Vash by his name in public was not an option in most places- people either shied away when he approached or tried to kill him and whoever was near him.  They had to resort to calling him Eriks, a name Vash had made up to keep his true identity hidden for as long as possible, and even so there were still some who recognized him.

            "Why do you think we stopped?" Milly spoke up, breaking the silence. 

            Vash had gone to the window, losing his oddball antics for the time being, and gazed steadily out into the growing twilight. He frowned- there was nothing but sand around, no town, no people. Then again, there could be something on the other side of the steamer. 

            "Was this thing scheduled to stop at another town before New Oregon?" he queried softly, turning to the others.

            Puffing on his cigarette, Wolfwood shrugged as he poured himself a shot of bourbon. 

            "Beats the hell out of me. Girls?"

            Meryl crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "Not that I know of, but it could just be something that needed to be fixed."

            Silently she hoped it wasn't because of a group of bandits planning on hijacking the thing.  She and Milly hadn't had the best of luck on sand steamers since meeting Vash, something was always happening, and it was never anything good. At least this time they were able to get their own private room, granted that all four of them had to share it because of their tight budget. 

            Before anyone could say any more on the matter, however, their transport lurched back into movement, sending Vash careening across the floor once more. 

            "Aieee!" He yelled as his form thumped against the wall.  He sat up dizzily and pointed into the air. "Look…birds."

            Rolling her eyes, Meryl sat down at the table that Milly had dragged back into place, looked to Wolfwood and said, "Pour me a glass please…I have a feeling this is going to be a long trip."


	3. Part 3: Lost in Space

**Session Unknown: Vacation**

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**Part Three**

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**Lost in Space**

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            "So this place, its on Venus?" Faye Valentine leaned over the console of the cockpit inside the Cowboy BeBop, attempting to read the smudged words on the travel guide.  

            "Yep," came the short reply from Jet.  He wasn't exactly too thrilled about the trip.  Sure they had the woolong to spare from their last big bounty grab, but he still didn't see the need for a vacation.  He was perfectly content tending to his bonsai trees and relaxing on board the ship.  Who needed this get away?

            The expectant stare from Faye reminded him.  If he hadn't have given in the woman would have complained and dramatized about it until someone threatened to kick her off the ship. Not that it would have done any good.  Jet didn't know how many times Faye had said she'd leave, or had actually taken off, but she always ended up coming back.  Kicking her off wouldn't have done a damn thing. 

            Then there was Ed.  It was Ed's idea that they go on this vacation, and eccentric as she may be, somehow the kid was hardly ever wrong about anything.  A whiz on the computers and one of the crew's prime source of information when it came to bounty heads, they had all learned to somewhat respect the odd girl's intentions and opinions.  Not that her opinions were ever simply put or understood off the bat. 

            And of course there was the fact that Spike wanted the vacation as well.  The lanky dark green haired shipmate hardly ever complained or asked for time off because he did enough sleeping and lounging about on board to ever think of taking one.  So Jet took it as the man for some reason really felt like he needed to get away from the BeBop for a while without taking the Swordfish II out by himself.  

            All those reasons and the simpler fact that Jet was outnumbered were cause to follow the crew's wishes.  Otherwise the man would find it rather lonely on the ship because Spike, Faye, Ed, and Ein (the Welsh corgi data dog) would all be halfway to Venus by now.

            "Hello, Earth to Jet! Are you even listening to me?"

            Faye's voice cut in on the muscular man's thoughts, her hands set on her hips, red jacket hanging off of her forearms in a pose she took on so frequently. Most of the time it happened when she was prepared to go into one of her tantrums, which was something Jet really wanted to avoid at the moment. Just locking the correct coordinates for this trip was headache enough.

            "Sorry.  It's on Venus, right, but I still haven't gotten the right coordinates.  Now if you don't mind I'd like to get us to the right place.  This is all for your sake Faye so I suggest being a little patient unless you want to end up on Pluto."

            The purple haired woman snorted, crossing her arms. "It wasn't even my idea, it was the kid's, so don't act like this is only for me."

            "Click, click, search a-a-a-a-a-and, Ed found it!" Ed's lithe noodle form wobbled its way into the cockpit, her laptop computer balanced on her head with precarious skill.

            Behind her a sharp bark sounded, signaling the presence of Ein, who wagged his stubby tail, brown eyes focused on Jet and Faye.

            "Faye-Faye, we did it! Coordinates found, click meeee!" The girl twirled, the laptop rocking back and forth on top of her mass of red-orange hair before she took it down and plopped on the floor with it on her lap.

            Faye's green eyes widened and she pushed Jet's shoulder. "Well what are you waiting for, you heard the girl, she found it! Put it in!"

            The muscular man rubbed his shoulder, "Ouch, Faye…cool it, I'm goin'." He craned his neck then realizing he couldn't see the computer screen, he turned to the console and asked Ed to relay it to him instead.

            Somehow he managed to put it in correctly, even with the bizarre way the girl spoke, and then set it on autopilot for the time being.

            "The course is set, who's up for dinner?" He stood from the console, stepping over Ein and edged pass Faye.

            "Does it involve something with protein in it…like meat, maybe?" Spike's voice sounded from the couch as he sat up from his most recent cat nap. Mention of food always interested him, especially when it consisted of more than just instant noodles in a Styrofoam container. 

            Raising an eyebrow and following suit of Faye, Jet crossed his arms and grunted. "Halibut- I managed to snag some on our last visit to Earth. It's in the freezer…oh yeah, and some shitake mushrooms too. We still have loads of them."

            Spike seemed pleased with the mention of Halibut- it'd been a long time since he'd had it, but the mushrooms were something he could do without. 

            "Double my serving of the fish and call it square- I can't take anymore fungus, it's eating my insides out."

            Jet 'hmph'ed' and walked to the kitchen as Faye draped herself on the second couch, tilting her head back over the couch. The only thing on her mind right now was fine service, expansive crystal waters, a bright sun and good luck at the casinos on Venus. She closed her green eyes and let a faint smile cross her red lips, sighing at the thought.

            "Who's steering?" Spike asked before the woman got much of a chance to drift off to sleep.

            Ed cart-wheeled past with Ein at her feet. "The invisible man, ooooooh, spooky!"

            Taking Ed's peculiar response to mean the BeBop was on auto-pilot, Spike returned the headphones to his ears and lay back on the couch and sardonically replied.

            "Gee…I hope we don't get lost."


	4. Part 4: Shooting Star

**Episode Unknown: Vacation**

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**Part Four**

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**Shooting Star**

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            Vash the Stampede.  How much did he hate that name?  The Humanoid Typhoon.  That one didn't make him sound any better. So bad things happened when he was around.  So trouble seemed to always be his lost little puppy.  It didn't mean he was responsible for it every single time.  He couldn't remember what happened that made him such an outlaw, such a wanted man, but there was no use in worrying about it now. 

            His aqua green eyes searched the skies on the second night of being on the sand-steamer.  By mid morning they should reach their destination of New Oregon and so far their journey was going without a hitch. For good measure Vash thought he'd better wish on that as well.  He wasn't getting anywhere though- all the stars in the sky were stationary.  A wish of this magnitude called for a bright fireball whizzing past in the sky. 

            "Have you got any tucked away for me Rem? I could really use one right now," he whispered softly to the shadow of the young woman's face glittering in the stars. He could almost hear his mentor's voice singing to him like she always used to.

            "Vash?" A voice called out quietly from the darkness of their room on the sand steamer. A woman's voice…soft, kind, so caring. 

            Half dazed, the blond man turned, seeing nobody. "Rem?" he asked, uncertain, his voice just above a whisper, eyebrows knit together as he strained to see in the blackness.

            "Vash is that you?" The voice spoke again, closer this time. 

            He could just make out a figure, and positive it was his close beloved friend miraculously back from the dead, he flung out his arms and pulled the slender figure to him, crying out loudly. 

            "Rem! It is you, oh this is such a great moment!!"

            A solid thwack on top of his head set him straight, and the figure wriggled desperately free from his arms. The voice was no longer soft but punishing. Ach, how wrong he'd been to think this woman who liked to hit him was his sweet friend Rem.

            "What do you think you're doing attacking me like that you oaf?!"

            "Oh…it's only you, Meryl." He replied, turning his gaze back out the window. 

            A low growl emitted from the petite insurance girl's throat as she stepped into the light of the moon coming into the window. 

            "Only me?! What do you mean it's only me?!"

            Instantly, Vash clamped a hand over her mouth and put a finger to his lips. "Shh! You're going to wake everyone up. Why are you awake anyway? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

            When he moved his hand, Meryl spoke more quietly. "I can ask you the same thing. I don't want you causing trouble again while we're all sleeping, so if you're going to stay awake I guess I'll just have to supervise. What were you doing anyway?"

            Gesturing to the sky, Vash smiled faintly. "Looking for a shooting star. They're the best kinds to make wishes on you know." Rem had told him that, he thought with a smile. "So don't worry, I'm not going anywhere, and you know it's not like I intentionally look for trouble."

            Meryl blinked. He was right of course, he never did go in search for these dangerous situations he ended up in, they always seemed to find him. Even so…

            "Well I'm awake now so I might as well stay up. What are you going to wish for?"

            With a faint smile, and the seriousness that usually took everyone's breath away, Vash replied. "If I tell you it won't come true. That's how wishes work. Help me look for one and you can make a wish too, on the same one. Maybe that way at least one of us will have our wish come true."

            The black haired young woman turned her blue-grey eyes to the sky as well and sought out a shooting star. Ridiculous, she muttered under her breath, but deep down she did have something to wish for.  She had several things actually, but one above all else, and hey it couldn't hurt to try. 

            They stared out the window for a long while- it felt like hours- listening to the gentle snoring of Milly and the soft grunts of Wolfwood during whatever nightmare he was having.  Vash seemed to be in some sort of trance, unblinkingly gazing to the sky and undoubtedly speaking silently to whoever he was talking to before Meryl had been so rudely attacked by his arms. 

            Before too long, Meryl was about ready to turn around and go back to bed but when she turned, Vash grabbed her arm gently.

            "Look, I found one!"

            The woman turned and followed to where he was pointing.  Sure enough a bright flash was streaking across the sky. 

            "Wow…it's beautiful," Meryl murmured.  She then realized she ought to be making a wish, however the more she gazed at the falling star, the more she noticed there was something askance about it. "Vash is it me or is that star getting closer to us?"

            Vash tilted his head then narrowed his eyes, squinting at the streaking ball of light. It wasn't until it was nearly too late that he saw the ball of light was made out of what looked like metal. And it was heading straight for the sand steamer.

            "This thing just turned from beautiful to…SCARY!!" Vash cried, diving to the floor and covered his head as Meryl did the same, the sand steamer suddenly rocking violently.

            Great, just my luck, Meryl thought…she knew the ride was going much too smoothly.


	5. Part 5: Crash and Burn

**Author's Note** OK, I'm doing this finally for both this story and my other just plain Trigun fan-fiction.  I'm gonna respond to the very kind reviews left by my lovely readers who are giving me incentive and motivation to keep going with this story. I really appreciate it all. So, without further ado…

Irin- Yes..writing…*types away on her keyboard*

Hidden Angel- A good start?! Thank you! ^_^ I hope you like the chapters to come as well!

ArsinoetheXVII – Great! Someone in for the long haul! (I hope you have a bit of patience, sometimes I go through spurts where…I just can't write a dern thing.) I'm glad the characters are found well-written, too. That was one of my main concerns.

Rosebud- You…I LOVE YOU! Thank you for such a lengthy review- this is the stuff I need to keep going! I'm more than pleased to have read it and to know that I've managed to keep the characters the way they are supposed to be. I completely agree that I've been disappointed in reading fics where the author has made the character very unlike the way they're supposed to be.  Heh, as for the mushrooms…well that session was one of my absolute favorites. Ed should've gone off by herself more often I think. *shrugs* Ach…thanks for pointing out that mistake about the Redwing.  I honestly couldn't remember what Spike's transport was called, so I'll be correcting that. ^_^ 

Luis- I think you've reviewed this story the most J Thanks for the encouragement and the comments about each chapter. It will be very interesting to find out what happens when these two casts collide, won't it? All I've got to say is…Vash's first impression of Faye Valentine. *giggles madly*

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Trigun or Cowboy BeBop nor am I in any way affiliated with the writers, producers, animators, ECT. …With this said and done…let's continue!

**Session Unknown: Vacation**

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**Part Five**

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**Crash and Burn**

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            For the most part the trip toward Venus was uneventful.  If one could call the constant bickering between Spike and Faye and the incessant and confusing ramblings of Ed uneventful that is.  The BeBop had already passed through one of the gates leading toward their destination, and was heading for the second which would ultimately lead them to the blue and green planet. 

            The steady tap-tap-tap of Ed at her laptop was now the only sound to be heard, besides the sleepy whimpering of Ein and the faint music from Spike's headphones.  Jet had the door to the cockpit open as he leaned back in his chair, absently keeping them on course when something caught his eye. Out of the left corner of the window there were strange looking lights. 

            "Huh? What the hell is that?" He asked himself, leaning forward in his seat.

            Turning swiftly, Jet punched the door to the cockpit open and yelled out to the others.

            "Hey you guys, come here, take a look at this!"

            It took a good minute for all three to finally crowd Jet in the cockpit, neither Faye nor Spike seeming too pleased to have moved from their spots. Ed on the other hand didn't seem to mind at all. She grinned and pressed her face against the window, eyes wide.

            "Oh! Pretty colors! Oh, what is that? What's that?!" she cried curiously, pointing to the display of bright and colorful lights dancing among the stars.

            Faye soon caught a glimpse of it over the bushy red-orange hair on top of Ed's head, and firmly but gently pushed the girl aside, her hands on the console. It was beautiful to look at- the colors were infinite, blending into the other, spanning across about a mile wide.  They shimmered and danced and lit up the darkness of space and were very enchanting to gaze upon.

            Spike was not so impressed. "Yeah, so? What's so thrilling about that?"

            The older man raised an eyebrow, "You say it like you've seen that before- don't tell me you have."

            "No, I haven't, but I don't see why it's such a big deal, it's just a bunch of lights." He replied flatly, lighting a cigarette and inhaled deeply. 

            "Ed will look it up!" the girl beamed and bounded off for her laptop. 

            "You just have no eye for beauty," Faye snorted in reply to Spike's comment, then grabbed the controls of the BeBop, steering it closer to the lights. 

            Jet, in a moment of panic, tried to wrestle them away from her. "Faye, what're you doing?! Let go, we don't know what the hell that is!"

            However the BeBop had already gotten a little too close to the strange yet wonderful display; Jet found it difficult to steer clear of it. He groaned with exasperation, trying to turn the BeBop away, but it was as though something was reeling them in. 

            "Ed found data!" she bounded back to the cockpit with her computer in hand and Ein at her feet. "Pretty lights in space are not common but stay far from them, it says."

            A sharp glare was delivered in Faye's direction from Jet as he spoke, "It seems a little too late for that- I can't get the ship to change course again. Why does it say to steer clear, Edward?"

            Ed glanced at the lights, frowning slightly as she looked back to the computer screen. "It says here that it's a sign of…wormholes. Zap! Into somewhere else you'll go! Never home again or…ooh…Ed feels funny…"

            She stopped to place a hand on her head.  Her eyes had a hard time focusing as the rest of her body felt suddenly very heavy. It wasn't long before the others began to feel the same way, like their heads and feet were being pulled toward their navels. 

            "What the hell's going on?" Faye groaned, "Wormholes aren't supposed to be real! I've heard stories about what they do to people! I'm too young and pretty to die!" she gasped, green eyes widening as she turned to look at the others.

            Spike had lost his cigarette, and despite what was happening as the BeBop continued to get drawn in, he fumbled for another to replace it. He smirked.

            "I wouldn't go that far to say you're too young, Faye- you're a lot older than me, remember?"

            She couldn't retaliate. She felt sick to her stomach, nausea washing over her every molecule. Slumping to the ground, Faye whacked her head against the console, just as the BeBop jerked violently, causing Ed and Spike to fall to the floor, and Jet to be pressed against his seat. They couldn't scream, they couldn't speak, and they could barely breathe. Everything went brilliantly white, and then frighteningly black…

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            The BeBop was picking up speed at an excruciatingly high rate, dive bombing from a second burst of colorful dancing lights straight for the surface of a desert planet. It wasn't until Ein barked sharply several times that the crew woke up feeling like they'd just been pulled inside out and upside down. Jet blinked groggily and glanced out the window, then did a double take.

            "Oh shit!" he cried, trying desperately to regain control of the ship. 

            "What is it?! What's happening?" Faye leaned over his shoulder, then saw what he did. Land rushing up to them very quickly, and darkness all around. She beat on the back of Jet's shoulders, "What are you waiting for, pull us back up, hurry!"

            "Crash and burn! Oh no!" Ed cried in what might've been thought of as horror as she clutched her laptop to her chest, unable to look away from the window. 

            Spike groaned and pulled another cigarette from his pocket, only to see they had all been crushed and ground into nothing. "Aw, great…can't even die with the comfort of that," he muttered. 

            Jet, realizing there was nothing he could do about the ship, shouted to the other three. "The controls are fried! I can't do a damn thing- brace yourselves!"

            With a wail, Faye grabbed the thing nearest to her, which happened to be Spike's jacket, and buried her face into it.  What rotten luck- she'd already placed her bets on some of the races on Venus and now she wouldn't live to see if she'd won or not. The lanky crew member didn't flinch, his mismatched brown eyes gazed unblinkingly to their approaching fate.

            "Whatever happens, happens," he muttered and waited for the impact as Ed and Ein curled up at Jet's feet.


	6. Part 6: When Two Worlds Collide

**Author's Note** Yay, chapter 6 is coming soon! Are you excited?! *looks to the Trigun and BeBop cast jumping up and down* Hmm, I guess they are too! ^_^ let's get this show on the road!

Luis- You like guessing what's going to happen next, don't you? *laughs* Well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see, huh?

sukioVic- Glad to know you think I've got them down! Always a concern of mine, mhm! 

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone from Trigun or Cowboy BeBop, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.  

*Faye* "Um, so can we hurry it up with the story already? I'm getting really bored just sitting here waiting."

*Me* "Uh…"

*Vash* "Yeah, hurry it up, please, please, please! Those insurance girls are gonna be on my tail if we don't get to see what happens to us all soon…somehow everything's always my fault!"

*Me* "Sorry Vash…will a plate of doughnuts make up for it?"

*Vash* "Hey, thanks! Huh?"

*Ed* "Doughnuts!!"

*Me* "Err, well okay, I guess I should start the story now…"

*All* "GOOD!"

*blinks…damn…pushy, aren't they?*

**Vacation**

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**Part Six**

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**When Worlds Collide**

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****

            A huge impact rattled the confines of the sand steamer causing most of the passengers to be thrown to the floor from their beds.  Vash had managed to pick up his twitching form from against the wall, dusting off his red trench coat, and turned to see Wolfwood helping Milly up. The screams and confused shouts of the others could be heard outside their room's door, as well as the sound of running feet pounding sporadically. 

            Milly rubbed an eye sleepily. "What's happening? Why did we stop?"

            The priest raised an eyebrow toward Vash accusingly and asked, "What'd you do this time, needle-noggin?"

            The blond man's jaw dropped, "Why is it every time something happens it's automatically my fault? It's not fair! I don't know what's going on either… aw man I thought it was a star!" He seemed on the verge of tears. 

            "You big baby!" Meryl shouted, "Come on, we might as well see what we hit."

            Still somewhat sleepy, the four joined the chaos roaming through the narrow halls of the sand steamer, pushing their way towards the front deck. Each of them was praying that it wasn't something troublesome.  

            'Please no more bandits, Milly and I never have good luck on this thing,' Meryl lifted her smoky grey-blue eyes to the ceiling.

            'Why can't anything go right? Why doesn't anything nice ever follow me? Even those insurance girls are scary…well the little one is anyway, she likes to hit me. I really hope it isn't the Bad Lads again… Man, can't I get a break?!' Vash's lower lip trembled, his aqua green eyes watering slightly.

            'That broom-head has everyone on his trail, but why the hell do his pursuers always endanger innocent people? Ugh…where are my cigarettes?' Wolfwood fumbled inside his breast pocket.

            Milly frowned lightly, her blue-green eyes worried. 'I hope the pudding didn't spill in the crash…'

            Finally making it past the rush of people, the four skidded out onto the open deck outside, cool night air hitting them. At first they weren't quite sure what to look for because they were under the impression that it was either a band of thieves or the star that Vash and Meryl thought they'd been looking at. However, leaning over the railing, it became pretty obvious. 

            Below them was a hunk of metal in the shape of what appeared to be a space ship.  Not just any space ship, but one where people could actually reside inside.  They all blinked in bewilderment.  The only preserved piece of lost technology that Vash knew about was the Project S.E.E.D.'s ship and of course his left arm.  This thing came out of the sky? 

            "What the hell is that thing?" Wolfwood leaned over the railing some more then looked to the other three. 

            "It looks like a space-ship," Vash murmured quietly.

            Gasping, Milly widened her eyes. "A space-ship, really?"

            "That can't be possible, that sort of technology was lost years ago! How could something like that just fall from the sky?" The black haired insurance girl pondered aloud, crossing one arm over her waist and rested her elbow on it, fingers tapping her chin. 

            "Nothing is impossible, but this seems really unlikely…improbable is the word I'd use," the priest snorted indignantly. 

            "Mr. Vash, Meryl look!" Milly exclaimed, pointing down to the ship.

            Wolfwood raised an eyebrow wondering if the girl was a little slow on the uptake. She had a reputation for pointing out the obvious sometimes and being a little scatter-brained. However, he noticed after the thought what the big girl motioned to. The hatch to the ship was shifting, groaning with each dull thud sounding from the other side. At once all speech stopped and the group waited what would be seen.

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            The crash wasn't as bad as the crew expected, nor did the BeBop burst into flame as Ed so playfully suggested it might. Impact was jarring, yes, but luckily nobody was hurt, save for Faye's slight bump on her head from hitting it against the console. Spike smiled wryly about that.  Maybe it would keep her from talking for a while. 

            "We're not dead?" The woman asked, bursting the bubble of hope the lanky man had. 

            Ed was the first to rebound and come back to life, jumping to her feet with laptop in hand. "We're alive! Ed's not dead, gone, perished…extinct!" she giggled as Ein barked at her feet in concurrence. 

            Jet grumbled as he pushed up out of his seat at the controls and tried to gaze out the window. It had a strange film over it, and where ever they were it was dark, obscuring vision of what lay outside. He could only make out some faded shapes. 

            "Everyone alright?" he asked, turning to check.

            Faye groaned, standing up with a hand pressed to her forehead. "I feel like a truck hit me but other than that I'm just peachy…that was quite a crash landing, Jet."

            "Don't patronize me Faye, if it weren't for you steering us to those lights we wouldn't have gotten sucked in." the man replied with a scowl, then darted his eyes toward Spike. 

            The green haired man was brushing the remnants of his crushed cigarettes out of his palm, lifting his eyes to meet the older man's. He pulled his headphones up, seeing them dangling, twisted. Spike was lucky they didn't decide to twist around his neck. 

            "I'm fine, but I could use a cigarette," was the derisive reply.  "Why don't we get out of here and see where we are, Jet? I don't think we made a crash landing on Venus."

            "It's a twister! Sucked in, spit out, somewhere else!" Ed mused, rolling on the floor past Spike's feet then jumping back up. 

            Faye mumbled but said nothing, following suit as the other two trailed Ed and headed for the hatch. The door was bent and dented, making it hard to simply unlock and push or pull open.  Jet decided pushing it out was going to work better than yanking the door inside, and began pounding on the metal. The other three and Ein stood side by side, watching him with mild amusement, listening to his muttering. They thought they heard something about jinxing the ship by saying there was nothing wrong with it. Hopefully the Redtail and the Swordfish II were intact. 

            After some time, Spike joined Jet's efforts and they managed to shove the hatch open, hearing it clank somewhere loudly. A rush of cool air hit them, which was thankfully oxygen.  No one had given thought to the fact they might've landed on a low oxygen planet and they hadn't prepared for it. The BeBop must have landed on its side, because their eyes had to turn up to see out.  What they saw was almost unimaginable. 

            Four pairs of eyes stared quizzically down at them from over the railing of a very large and odd looking transport. A blond man with spiky hair, a short black haired woman, a big brunette girl, and a lanky black haired man had their heads cocked and eyes wide as though staring at aliens. 

            Spike, Faye, Ed, Jet, and Ein all returned the bewildered stares until the brunette girl spoke aloud to them. 

            "Hullo! Do…you…speak…our…language?"

            The BeBop crew exchanged wary glances before looking back up to them. Spike sighed softly.

            "Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore…"


	7. Part 7: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

**Author's Notes** For those of you who like Trigun, and have seen the entire series, I suggest reading my "Aftermath" fan-fiction…it's a tale about what happens after the series ended. Can Vash change Knives, can he take care of his brother just as Rem told him to? There's some new characters introduced in it, some old ones return, and lots of twists and turns. Check it out ^_^ I promise, the new characters are not (going by literal definition) Mary Sues. 

Luis- Wow, you're just full of hopes for this story aren't you? And wonders at that. Well, you will see some of your thoughts answered as the story goes along, so just be a bit patient okay?

HPFanficluvr- Yeah I had some pairings in mind before I even started the story. You may be right one at least one of them! J

Rosebud- Thanks! Glad to know I'm doing a good job so far, I hope I don't let anyone down when it comes to this story. Milly's phrase I thought was pretty funny myself, and as for Spike…well it's something he's actually said I believe. I know I haven't updated it in a while, I've been preoccupied with my just plain Trigun fic, but! I am going to work on this one a little more, I hope. Please, continue to tell me any mistakes you find, I will correct them or give an explanation or…something. J

Disclaimers: I do not own the characters or the titles of Trigun or Cowboy BeBop, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. (Though I wish I were…how cool would that be?!)

Claimer: The concept for this story is my own- be a little lenient when it comes to time and space travel here..kay?

*Ed prances in with Ein at her feet. Ed stops, turns, salutes and very seriously says "And now onto the story!" She giggles and rolls away as Ein barks…*

Vacation

Part Seven

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

            A crowd had already begun to gather outside the sand steamer as the crew of the Cowboy BeBop climbed out of their non-functional ship, wary of their surroundings. The four people who had been on the deck of the large contraption had already made their way down to the ship, taking the short-cut right over the railing. It might've been a long way down but there was the fallen space ship to land on first before hitting the sandy ground.

            Low murmurs ran through the air at the sight of the BeBop, which was severely in need of a repair station- these people could not believe something like that still existed. The only hints of lost technology still around were the power plants and the sand steamers and those were pretty primitive. 

            The BeBop crew stood in a single line, side by side, staring and wondering where the hell they were.  If they thought it couldn't get stranger, they were wrong- on top of not knowing where they were, their ship being useless, and their cigarettes having been crushed into nothing…the people were gawking like they were at a zoo. 

            "What are they looking at?" the violet-haired woman leaned over, taking on a slight ventriloquist act, her jade green eyes staring at them. "You'd think they've never seen people before…"

            The older man with black sideburns and a bit off the top shrugged, "How would you look at someone who fell from the sky?"

            Before a reply was given, one of the four gawking strangers from the deck came forward. It was the young man in black; his blue eyes seemed to pierce through them as they moved to each person.

            "I think before anybody asks anything, I should ask you two things- are you hurt, and who are you?"

            The dog barked loudly as though immediately replying to the man's questions, and his eyes went to the animal with a wry smile on his lips. There was a rather skinny…young…person standing next to the dog who promptly proceeded to introduce itself.

            "I'm Ed! Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the Fourth! Woof, says Ein, we're A-okay!" Ed giggled.

            Next to Ed was a tall, lanky young man, one the man in black somehow felt a sort of connection to. His hair was rather bushy and dark green, and something about his eyes seemed…off. 

            "Spike Spiegel," he replied dryly. "And I don't think any of us are hurt. Those two are Jet Black and Faye Valentine."

            "Thanks Spike, but I can speak for myself," Faye retorted, already eyeing the handsome young man before them. She offered a hand daintily with a flirtatious smile on her lips, "So now you know who we are…who might you be?"

            The man in black chuckled lightly, ready to take the offered hand, when he was suddenly shoved out of the way by the blond man in the red coat. Faye's hand was instantaneously snatched up into gloved ones, her eyes lifting to meet a very starry aqua green gaze. 

            "Oh miss you're like a star from the heavens! If there's anything I can do for you I'm at your beck and call!"

            Spike smirked lightly, turning to glance at Jet, who raised an eyebrow sharing the same puzzled expression as Ed. Faye, however, did not seem to be amused at all.

            "Hey! What the…let go of me! What're you doing?! Get off of my leg!" She cried, jerking her hand away only to see the young man clinging to her leg with the same starry eyes of adoration. What the hell was wrong with this guy?

            "Look Faye, you've made friends with the natives," sounded the snide remark which could've only come from Spike. 

            Ed laughed and spun, "Natives are our friends! Where are we? Ein, do you know?" The dog barked and the red-orange haired girl appeared to ponder it as though taking it as an actual response. 

            The short black haired woman stepped forward, pulling the blond man away from Faye's leg, chuckling nervously. 

            "I'm sorry, he gets strange sometimes we just don't know what to do with him. I think it's fair to say who we are- I'm Meryl Stryfe and this is my partner, Milly Thompson. We're from the Bernardelli Insurance Society…that's Nicholas D. Wolfwood, and the broom head is Va…uh…" She trailed off, wondering if she really ought to tell who the man was. It might not be such a good idea.

            He seemed to think otherwise. "I'm Vash the Stampede miss!" Vash clung to Faye's hand once more then backed away in mild fright from the glare she gave him. 

            The collective gasp from the crowd behind upon hearing the man's name seemed to hint something ominous to the BeBop crew. They couldn't tell what it could possibly be- the man was a head case. Unless being an idiot was like being God around here. Wherever "here" was. 

            "Bernardelli?" Jet tilted his head, "Where the heck is that? I've never heard of it before in my life. Nowhere near Venus I'm guessing."

            "Venus?!" The other four declared in shock. There was the off chance that they didn't believe someone could go there or that they had no idea where or what Venus was.

            At that moment, the conductor of the steamer approached them, shoving past the crowd, ordering them back inside the transport. He came to a stop before the crew of the fallen ship and whistled loudly.

            "I'll be damned! I didn't believe them, but I guess it is true! Lost technology fallen from the sky, look at that..."

            "Lost technology? What the hell are you talking about?" Faye arched an eyebrow, looking to the BeBop. "Haven't you ever seen a space craft before?"

            "Ma'am I don't know how you folk came about acquiring one of these, but something like this hasn't been seen in over a hundred years! Whatever the case, it needs to be pushed off the track so the steamer can continue. Think we can manage it?"

            Jet blinked…it was going through all of their minds, he knew it. The BeBop…lost technology? What kind of back-water place was this? The people looked normal enough, save for the strange one in the red coat, who went from looking stone serious to misty eyed when he looked at Faye.  He'd never seen something like the sand steamer before, though, otherwise he'd assume they were in a desert on some planet in the Milky Way. 

            "It might take a lot of people, but I guess we could try it." He grunted and moved to the battered ship. Repairs were going to take forever, he could feel it.

            Everyone helped in moving the BeBop safely away from the tracks, though it took a lot of man power and there were probably several strained muscles afterward, and once it was shoved against a nice pile of sand, the conductor delivered the bad news. 

            "Now I heard that one of you is Vash the Stampede…I'm not going to blame this mess on you, whichever one of you is him, but I'm afraid I can't let any of you onto the steamer again. You can get your belongings but after that you're on your own. Sorry, it's a liability, I've heard stories and seen to many destroyed towns to take that risk."

            At the news of this everyone's eyes bugged in disbelief. The short insurance girl seemed to take it the worst- she appeared to be turning purple in the face. The BeBop crew pointed at the man in red right away, suggesting he was this Vash person, yet nothing came of it. It only took a few minutes before the eight people and the dog were standing in the middle of the desert at night, surrounded by a heap of metal, suitcases, and a big cross shaped object watching the sand steamer head off into the distance.

            Everything was silent for a moment until the yelling began. Meryl was really going off on Vash, though indirectly, storming around in a circle with her fists at her sides. 

            "I can't believe this! Why doesn't anything ever go right when we're with you? Nothing but trouble happens whenever you're around!"

            "But…Meryl, this isn't Mr. Vash's fault," Milly tried to soften the blow on the man, who already looked to feel guilty. "He didn't make them crash into us…he didn't do anything wrong."

            Seething, the petite woman sat down, defeated. She knew it wasn't Vash's fault…they just had really bad luck. 

            "So would someone mind telling me where we are? Ed, does your computer work?" Jet asked, looking to the limber kid clutching the laptop tightly. 

            "Ed will try…hmm…no online connection! The wormhole! Zzzap!" 

            "Great…" Faye muttered, avoiding eye contact to the clingy blond man.

            "If you want to know where you are, we're somewhere near New Oregon on Gunsmoke." Wolfwood finally replied, reaching into his breast pocket to pull out a cigarette. 

            Immediately Spike's eyes were on the smoking stick like it was a piece of heaven. He didn't even seem to hear the name of the planet which wasn't even known to them…not at first anyhow. 

            "Gunsmoke? The wormhole…Ed, didn't you try explaining something about it before? Those lights we saw?" the lanky crew man asked.

            "The wormhole acts like a space tear…transporting all in its way to another place or time or both!" Ed replied from her place on the ground, resting against Ein. 

            "Something like Dorothy going over the rainbow in the tornado?" Faye asked…that movie was from her time, not that she remembered ever seeing it as a kid. Not that she remembered anything from a few years ago. But…there were books.

            "Uh-huh!" Ed replied with a wide, innocent grin.

            Spike groaned lightly, turning back to Wolfwood as the others stared at each other. "Mind if I bum a cigarette? I think we're gonna be here a while…"

**Well ok I'm done with this part..sorry it's not as great as the others have been but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. It'll get moving soon. J**


	8. Part 8: Highway to Hell

** Author's Note ** Whee! I'm back! Well, this story is back, anyhow, I've been around. J I wonder who's still sticking around, waiting for this story to get back on track. For those who are still here, waiting, thanks so much for being patient, I just had…to finish my other fic first before it ate my brain…or something like that. 

            Anyway, I'm gonna thank those who reviewed for part 7 all at once and hope that some of your questions are answered in this next coming part…and if not…um, ask them again ^_^ I'm just anxious to get it started, so after the disclaimer, we're off to the races! J

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from manga/anime Trigun or Cowboy BeBop, nor do I own the titles or rights to them. I am not affiliated with the creators in any way, shape or form, and I am doing this purely for the simple reason that I love both anime shows, the characters, and hope to entertain others without making a profit. So don't sue me, please, thank you! J

**Vacation**

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**Session Eight**

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**Highway to Hell**

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            "Are we there yet? Jet…Spike? Will one of you carry me?" Faye Valentine grumbled as she followed the rest of the BeBop crew trudging through the sand land. There was almost nothing as far as the eye could see, and it'd been that way for the last four hours. This woman was not pleased that this place wasn't Venus, that they'd been zapped through some stupid hole in the universe, and that the goofy blond guy in the red coat kept gawking at her like she was a goddess. Well…then again, maybe that last part wasn't so bad. 

            Jet glanced over his shoulder, "If you're not gonna carry anything, you're gonna walk just like the rest of us."

            Faye whimpered lightly and pouted, not bothering to look behind her as the weird blond guy called out.

            "I'll carry you! It'd be an honor to place such a beauteous lady such as yourself upon these strong, high shoulders!"

            The eccentric little red-headed girl spun with her arms flung out wide. "Hey Mr. Vash-person, will you carry Ed?! Ed's feet hurt…see? They're bare! Bare as a naked baby, baby naked!" 

            Nicholas Wolfwood puffed on a newly lit cigarette and muttered to the insurance girls. "Man is that kid strange or what?"

            Milly grinned broadly. "I dunno Mr. Priest, I think she's kinda cute!"

            Meryl did a double take at Edward and looked to her partner. "It's a girl? How can you possibly tell that? I thought his name is Edward! That's a boy's name!"

            Overhearing, Ed walked backward towards them, wind-milling her arms separately, Ein barking at her feet.

            "Edward is a girl!" she grinned cattily up to them, amber eyes shining. "Ed named herself…it sounds much better than my stinky old name. Isn't Ed more fun to say?! Ed, Ed, Ed!" she giggled and did a cartwheel away from them.

            The priest gave the girls a flat expression. "I guess Milly was right after all. For as strange as that kid is, I guess Ed is a very fitting name."

            Milly let out a soft giggle, covering her mouth as Ed did another cartwheel and careened right into the muscular man named Jet. 

            "Ouch! Ed, can't you watch where you're going?"

            Ed stood up from her cartwheels and saluted to the bigger man, the dog circling her feet barking.

            "Yes sir, Mister Jet Person, sir! Ed will watch where she's going very carefully!" As though to make it an obvious point, her fingers flew to her eyes and held her eyelids apart as freakishly wide as she could. She giggled madly and ran in the circle that Ein made.

            While this was happening, Spike was trying to make his cigarette last as long as possible. Whatever the brand, it definitely held a torch to his usual; a big, fat torch. He inhaled the tobacco product deeply, knowing it was coming to an end then exhaled the smoke slowly before dropping the butt and grinding it into the sand. 

            "That was…so good," Spike murmured lazily, his hands retreating to his pockets as the group ambled on. 

            The sky was still blanketed in darkness and even though they were walking it was getting pretty cold. Apparently the desert got that way at night, but at least there was no wind. Spike sighed and took a peek at the others. Ed seemed to have calmed down a bit, though from time to time would dart off into the darkness laughing like a mad scientist before returning to them. Faye had stopped complaining…for once, Spike couldn't help think with a wry smile. That weird blond guy was doing him a favor by bugging the hell out of Miss Valentine. Jet remained quiet, arms crossed, and a thoughtful expression on his otherwise stern face. He wouldn't say anything until he felt like it, Spike concluded. 

            In front of them were their guides for the time being. The lumbering girl strode with a little less vigor than before and had also not spoken for at least…two or three minutes. Spike wondered if that was a new record. The short black haired woman, Meryl, seemed to be getting tired of walking as well, every now and then stopping briefly to shake sand from the white cape on her back. Spike thought he saw derringers on the underside and wondered just how heavy that cape was. 

            Vash continued on with some sort of fierce determination, and when he turned his head there was the stupidest, goofiest grin on his face. 

            'What an idiot,' Spike couldn't help but think. Was that guy for real? And what was up with the trench coat? 

            The green-haired bounty hunter turned his mismatched brown eyes to the last member of their guiding party; the so called priest. He carried a large cross on his shoulder, wrapped up in a white sheet and held together by several buckles. Spike didn't know exactly what kind of priest toted anything like that and smoked cigarettes, but for sharing one of those precious sticks of nicotine he didn't care if Wolfwood was Satan himself. 

            It wasn't until the wind began to pick up that the crew of the BeBop began to wonder how much farther they had left to go. It wasn't surprising that Faye was first to speak up. 

            "I don't mean to complain," …yeah, sure she didn't, "but it's really getting cold out here. Are we _anywhere_ close to this town yet?"

            Jet glanced at Faye and chuckled sardonically, "You mean those clothes aren't warm enough, Faye?"

            Spike grinned languidly and added his two woolong, "Shocking, isn't it?"

            Of course it wasn't shocking- the clothes Faye wore were far from warm. The tight yellow short-shorts, half shirt, suspenders, and third of a jacket hardly counted as desert night clothing. She shivered, ignoring the remarks. 

            "Shut up you morons- men know nothing about fashion, I swear! Sometimes a woman just has to suffer to look this good."

            Spike and Jet exchanged comical expressions before Spike replied.

            "Then please, for the sake of us all- stop your suffering, Faye, because it's not doing you any good."

            Jaw dropping, Faye tried to lash out at her fellow bounty hunter. "You stupid fuzzy haired ass!"

            Before she could get to him, arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. It was none other than Vash…of course. Whatever gave him the excuse to touch such a pretty girl, he'd jump for it. 

            "Hey there little lady, no need for violence. Blood makes me dizzy and you don't want any on yourself, now do you?" 

            Ed giggled to Ein as though it were a secret, "Bloody Faye-Faye…"

            Ein barked. 

            Meryl cast a look over her shoulder with eyes that would shoot bullets into Faye's head if they could. She really began to resent this woman…

            Wolfwood turned to look as well, arching a brow as Vash tried to be smooth with the purple haired woman in the un-smoothest way. 

            "If you're cold, I can most certainly keep you warm- it's my specialty," Vash grinned stupidly as he tried to cop a feel of Faye's chest. 

            It resulted in a shriek and a loud smack. When he released her, the "ace gunman" found his left cheek sporting a nice red handprint. Huffing, Faye crossed her arms and positioned herself to walk between Spike and Jet.

            "Never touch a lady without her permission!" She cried without looking back, angry eyes remaining straight ahead. 

            Ed stifled a laugh as Wolfwood commented under his breath about Vash being a needle-noggin again. 

            Milly smiled as she looked at a simpering Vash, "Mr. Vash, that wasn't really appropriate of you to do. There are other ways to keep someone warm without grabbing them."

            Meryl seemed to have something to say about it to, but whatever it was she kept it to herself, glowering all the while with clenched hands. 

            It quieted down again with the occasional bark from Ein or sporadic shout from Ed, and in about an hour the handprint on Vash's cheek evaporated. It was about the same time that the sky had begun to lighten a bit and on the horizon some blinking lights could be seen. They were the flickering lamps of New Oregon, and just past the town a bulbous glass construct could be seen as well. 

            "Is that it? Is that the town?" Faye cried out, her hopes rising. She really hoped so- the trip there so far had been like traveling the highway to hell.

            Meryl nodded, "That's the town, yes. It's about time too- look, the Sand-steamer has already arrived there."

            It was true- though nobody had even noticed the hulking mechanism to the side of New Oregon. Of course it would have beaten them, it could move faster than any of them could, though that was debatable now as Ed and Ein shot off toward the town.

            "Yippee! Town means people, people means food! Food for Ed and Ein! We're hungry, hungry hippos! We want some ripe tomatoes!"

            The other stopped in their tracks to gaze quizzically at the distancing figures and Wolfwood glanced to Spike, Jet, and Faye. 

            "Does she ever make sense?"

            "Sometimes," Jet replied shortly.

            "Ah," The priest shifted the large cross from one shoulder the other. "You've gotten used to it I bet."

            "Not exactly." This reply came from all three of them this time. 

            Meryl was first to resume walking. "You can all stand here if you want, but personally I'm ready to check into the motel and get some sleep. Come on Milly."

            Milly obediently followed. Faye arched an eyebrow thinking this was a bit pathetic- a girl as big as her could probably pound that high strung Meryl right into the ground if she wanted to. However- the black haired woman did have a good idea. A shower and some sleep would probably do a world of wonders. 

            Faye shrugged and followed them as well, Vash at her heels.

            "Wait for me fair maiden of my heart!"

            Spike and Jet looked to Wolfwood. "Is he always like that?"

            "Most of the time," the priest replied, lighting a cigarette then offered one to both of the bounty hunters. 

            "Have you gotten used to it?" Jet queried, turning the tables a bit. 

            Wolfwood gave a lopsided grin, inhaled on the lit cigarette, then replied before continuing toward the town.

            "Not exactly."

**A/N** Ok! I know its been forever and a day since I last updated this story- I'm SO SO sorry about that, but I got awfully busy with my original fictions and the manga I'm trying to create (as well as some other art projects that didn't quite make it ^.^). Anyhow- I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise to get to work on the next one ASAP! 

~Celebria


	9. Part 9: No Money

**A/N** Well! I'm so glad to see that I managed to keep at least 2 of my readers! And I'm so, so happy that you've read and enjoyed the last chapter…So yes, this little insert here usually means there is a chapter not too far after it, and this is the truth in this case. However, there will be a bit of a delay if you continue to read what I've typed here. ^.^ 

I wanted to take a bit of time to say thanks for those who've stuck around to read, it really makes me glad to know there are some faithful readers of mine still. Also- if there are any Saiyuki fans out there reading this, keep your eyes peeled- I'm working on a short (very short) Saiyuki fan-fiction called "Saiyuki Reflections". 

^.^

Ah yes, another thing- on a recent trip to the mall I found a wonderful store called "Too Cool" that was filled to the brim with Anime titled Soundtracks- I bought both Trigun CDs as well as the 5 CB Soundtracks- I'm keeping persistent with the chapter titles being song titles, but if there's any that aren't familiar, it's very likely that they are titles I'm using from one of these 7 *_kick-ass_* CDs. And for those who do recognize them…er…kudos to you! ^_^

Rosebud- Yay! Thank you for reviewing, and again I apologize for such a long wait- being busy does this to a person…isn't it sad? Heh. I rather like the brief conversation between Jet, Spike, and Wolfwood as well- to me it seems those three are most likely to either get along or really hate each other…out of the men, anyhow. 

Merlyn1382- Well thank you for waiting around for the next update. I'm rather proud of my display of the characters as well…they haunt me in my sleep. .;

Disclaimer: I do not own any manga, anime, or other manga/anime merchandise related to the Trigun or Cowboy BeBop titles, nor do I own any of the characters, ideas, or art design from said titles- this work is purely fictional, I'm making no profit from it other than the great comments from my readers, and therefore should not (hopefully) be sued. (I have nothing to give but my brain anyway, and believe me, you don't want that.)

~Celebria

**Faye storms out looking quite peeved at me and sticks a finger in my face** You!

*looks shocked* Me!?

**Faye** You made that blond dolt grab me! I've been violated! How dare you?!

*grins lightly* It's called comedy, Faye- trust me, the people loved it. 

**Faye** He _grabbed_ me! I don't find anything funny about that.

*shrugs* Well fine then- I guess you don't much care that you're becoming quite popular with the audience here. They really love you Faye-Faye, they just can't get enough of your charm.

**Faye quirks a brow** Its Faye- say it once, please. **her temper lightens a bit** They really like me hmm? I _do_ have a great personality, I guess I can't blame them. Well, **she sighs** if its for the sake of popularity among the people, I guess I won't complain so much. **winks**

*grins broadly* Good- glad that's settled. Now we can get on with the story. In this chapter, I was thinking about Vash advancing again and this time grabbing your rear.

**Faye looks completely shocked** WHAT?!

*ushers her off* All for the sake of popularity among the people, Faye-Faye, remember- they were your words after all. Bye now!

**Faye sidles off, puzzled**

Oy.

**Vacation**

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**Chapter Nine**

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**No Money**

****

"What do you mean we can't stay here?"  Spike inquired of the innkeeper calmly, lifting a brow. "We have enough money, don't we?"

The keep, a thin old man with large owl-eye spectacles and a wire thin silver mustache, gestured to the notes on the desk. 

"You have enough, son, but what of I couldn't begin to tell you. This isn't money- its just colored paper and odd looking coins."

Jet, Faye, and Spike exchanged wary expressions and Ed yapped along with Ein. The keep craned his neck to look past the three at the desk to the strange child and dog.

"Even if you did have the proper amount of double-dollars, I'm afraid we don't allow animals to stay here."

Faye arched an eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder, "That's not an animal- that's Ed. Though I guess it is debatable at times." She sighed. "Look, mister, can't you give us a bit of a break? We're not from around here and our ship broke down-"

"Your ship? What do you take me for, a moron? There are no ships around here. There isn't even water." The keep chuckled. 

Jet grunted, "Our space ship, not the kind that goes on the water."

This made the innkeeper howl with laughter. Everyone on Gunsmoke knew that there were no space ships around. That technology had been lost a long time ago. He shook his head and waved them away. 

"You'll have to try another inn, but thank you for the laugh!"

Spike shot a sidelong glance to Jet, "Why do I get the feeling the next inn isn't in this town?"

Ed stopped yapping at Ein, amber eyes gazing curiously at the adults. "We can't stay here? Vash-person could stay here, we should ask _him_ for help."

"We're not beggars, kid," Spike retorted, turning away from the desk. "We'll just have to make do outside. That is unless Faye here can con her way into getting us a room."

Faye's jaw dropped a bit, green eyes wide. "You want to use me?" she hissed. Before she could say anything more, however, the innkeeper interrupted. 

"Did that strange kid say Vash? As in Vash the Stampede?"

The BeBop crew glanced at one another. That was how the goofy blond man introduced himself, but they were wondering if saying yes to the innkeeper was going to benefit them or not.  When the group had finally reached the inn at this New Oregon town their guides had suddenly deserted them. Wolfwood gave a nice salute, mumbling some priest- ism about going with the protection of God, Milly had wished them luck as Meryl tugged her and a bawling Vash inside. Faye, for one, was glad to see him go. How pathetic that a man like that cried like a baby?

Being one to perhaps take most of the risks out of the four, Faye gave a little nod. 

"Yeah, that was the blond guy who came in here wailing like a two year old. What's it to you?"

At once the attitude of the keep did a three-sixty, waving his hands with sweat bullets appearing on his face. 

"I didn't know you were with V…Vash the Stampede! I'll prepare a room for you right away! I'm so sorry!"

The old man rushed into a door behind him, leaving four very puzzled people. Ed scratched her fingers in the thicket of orange-red hair on her head, mouth forming an 'o' shape as she looked to Ein.

"Ooh…crazy old man…" 

Ein barked his agreement. 

Jet had a brow arched and a hand atop his balding head. "That was strange. All we did was mention that goofy blond guy and we got a room?"

Faye crossed her arms, shifting her weight to one leg. "Are you going to complain? But I have to say- if there's only one bed, I'm getting it. I need my beauty sleep- and I get first dibs on the shower too. I've got sand in my ears and other…unmentionable places."

"Gee, thanks for sharing Faye," Spike replied tonelessly, his face deadpan. "To be honest, I don't care who gets the bed. We're getting a free room."

Jet conceded with a curt nod. "It doesn't change the fact that we have no money here. We're gonna need to get some if we're going to be able to repair the BeBop, and they don't take Woolong here."

Ed pointed a finger up toward the ceiling, "The currency here is called a double dollar- Woolong are not even a currency in this solar system…oooh…no money, no money, no money for us."

Neither of the other three even wanted to begin to guess how Ed knew that- it wasn't worth being shown that she was right. They weren't quite sure how they'd be able to get the local currency, but at the moment fatigue was setting in and nobody even cared anymore.  It was something to worry about in the morning…or the afternoon, since the sun had risen already.

Nobody noticed, however, that there were in fact _two_ suns in the blue sky, and if they had, they didn't care. Not that it would've been completely unusual. Jupiter had nine moons, and Saturn had rings where people lived, and Spike was born on Mars. 

At last the innkeeper returned, beaming, and still sweating profusely. 

"Your room is ready- it's number 7-A, right down the hall on your left. You'll be happy to know that it is the room directly across from your friend's."

"Our friend?" Spike, Faye, and Jet repeated, bewildered.

"Yes," the innkeeper nodded, holding in place the most forced grin of all time. "Mr. Vash the Stampede- he is in the room right across from yours. Enjoy your stay!"

The four filed through the hallway, Ein included- the no pets rule had more than likely waived with the mention of Vash- and came to room 7-A. It was nothing fancy, not that anything fancy was expected; just a normal room with two double beds, a bathroom with shower, a desk and chair, and a window that gave a view of nothing but the town and rolling sand dunes. 

"I call the other bed," Jet chimed as he walked in and plopped down onto the one closest to the window. The bed creaked noisily in protest when he shifted his weight a bit. 

"You must be gaining weight, Jet." Spike quipped with a half smirk. He shed his jacket, pulled out the chair, sat down and balanced it against the wall on the two back legs of it. "It must be the steady diet of your specialty- bell peppers and beef."

Jet narrowed his eyes at the green mopped crewmate but didn't bother with a witty retort- he was just too tired to bother. 

Faye tossed her jacket on the remaining bed and shot a glare to Ed in warning to keep away from it. "I'm taking a shower and then going to sleep- nobody better try and wake me up later." She vanished into the bathroom, shutting the door tightly behind her.

"Oh, scary Faye-Faye," Ed remarked, stretching her lithe limbs with a catlike grace and yawned widely before curling up on the floor next to Ein.

Within a few moments, Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, and Edward Wong Hau Pepalu Tivrusky the Fourth were slumbering in their respective places to the sound of water falling in the shower. When Faye finally emerged from the bathroom, she lay down soundlessly on the bed and closed her eyes. She shifted to get comfortable and the bed creaked, which received a response from a dreaming Ed. 

"No money…no money…no money for us….dreaming, dreaming, dreaming…no money."

Aggravated, Faye threw a pillow at Ed, "Shush!" she hissed and shut her eyes. 

Ed made one last remark before returning to a deeper sleep.

"Chicken bone."


	10. Part 10: Bad Dog, No Biscuit

**A/N** Ok- so I took a brief vacation from writing, but for what it's worth, I couldn't really avoid not updating. Babysitting woes, y'know, and no computer to work with kind of makes it difficult. However! *raises a hand* I bring you a new chapter ^_^. 

Rosebud- ^_^ To think that I'd been going to that mall for a year and not once had I stopped into that store! Kind of ironic, isn't it? Oh well- the CDs are great and giving me a lot of ideas for chapter titles, and with those titles come ideas for the actual chapters. You gotta love any dialogue between Spike and Faye- its all just so priceless- and something tells me that Jet would scowl about gaining weight…he's just that type of person to me. 

Jess Perry- Sorry you were grounded, but thanks for making it to leave a comment!

Luis- Aren't you glad I updated?! I'm debating on whether or not the Gung-ho Guns will make an appearance in this, but if any of them do I know it'll be between Midvalley, Legato, or Chapel. Those three are my favorites, next to Dominique, though I'm not sure if I want her in this story or not. And yes, there shall be some bounty huntin! 

Ultra Sonic007- Well you're guessing correctly! How many others do we know of who get money from poor Vash-kun? ^_^ Though, I didn't say _how_ they'd get the money…

Merlyn- Well then- here's the next chapter!

Disclaimers: I do not own any manga, anime, or other manga/anime merchandise related to the Trigun or Cowboy BeBop titles, nor do I own any of the characters, ideas, or art design from said titles- this work is purely fictional, I'm making no profit from it other than the great comments from my readers, and therefore should not (hopefully) be sued. (I have nothing to give but my brain anyway, and believe me, you don't want that.)

**A/N PS**  By the way- if anyone would like to submit song titles for chapters, feel free to do so, I just might use them! Also, I am going to rename the fan fiction title, something different than "Vacation", that might infer that this is a Cowboy BeBop/Trigun crossover. Any ideas for titles would be greatly appreciated! J

**Vacation**

****

**Session Ten**

****

**Bad Dog, No Biscuit**

****

****

            Meryl Strife popped an eye open at the sound of her partner's snoring.  The black haired woman had gotten nearly no sleep due to Milly's nasal congestion, though it wasn't something that Meryl wasn't already used to.  What the petite insurance agent was unused to had to be the snoring symphony from two others in the room, joining in with Milly's own melody. Either way, the sound definitely would never be categorized as beautiful music.

            Once again the insurance girls had run out of cash- thus sharing a room with Vash and Wolfwood became a necessity. The tickets for the sand-steamer had just about all but depleted their funds from Bernardelli and so once again they had to turn to the blond gunman for financial help. 

_            "Please Mr. Vash the Stampede! If Meryl and I don't have anywhere to stay, how can we keep an eye on you?! Please don't make us sleep outside in the cold, cold sand!"_

_Milly had practically attached herself to the tall man's leg begging for the double dollars. _

_            Vash, of course, had been quite embarrassed at being called by his name in front of the innkeeper, who appeared shocked at the sound of it. _

_            "Ah, if you'll let go of me, I'll see what I can do," he had replied, a stupid grin on his face…_

            It turned out that the ace gunman had been running out of cash himself.  However, with Wolfwood's help they managed to combine funds for a single room that all four would just have to share. Vash had been sure that the innkeeper had charged them extra for the room, but a good whack on the head had kept his mouth shut. Naturally that was the work of both Wolfwood and Meryl- they weren't about to lose a room because of his complaints. 

            Funny how quickly a person could change their mind. Meryl would've been content with a sleeping bag on the roof with the cats at this moment. 

            The twin suns had long risen in an otherwise unmarred azure sky- they'd been rising when the motley bunch of travelers arrived in New Oregon, several hours after they'd been scheduled to. Walking instead of remaining in the comforts of the sand-steamer had done a number on Meryl's nerves, and to top off the sand in her shoes, she couldn't say she particularly enjoyed the extra company.  The other four were partially responsible for this whole thing after all, why not hold a bit of a grudge against them?

            There was something about the purple-haired woman too, that rubbed Meryl the wrong way. This…Faye some-head or other that Vash was completely enthralled with from the moment they informally met.  A vein pulsed in Meryl's temple at the thought of that golden latex scantily clad woman with the perfect face…the perfect eyes…the perfect _body_.  She felt her blood boiling. Of course Faye didn't want anything to do with Vash, but her manner of dress didn't help the situation any, and Vash was known to keep on those good looking girls until he had no other choice but to turn away. The guy was never going to get a girlfriend that way. 

            Those other three were strange as well.  The big guy, Jet, had an oddity about his left arm.  While it'd been too dark to see it at first, when the sky had gotten light enough Meryl noted that it was cybernetic.  She'd thought Vash was the only person with an arm like that.  That kid, Ed of too many names, with the bright orange-red hair, amber catlike eyes, and eccentric demeanor- he, or she, or it, might as well have been an alien.  Anything that skinny, that limber, that odd, and that androgynous couldn't be anything but an alien. 

            Then there was Spike.  He came off as the most laid back and normal of his three companions.  The only off element about him was probably his hair color- a deep forest green that Meryl had never laid eyes on before. She tried to recall anything of that color and had to admit to herself she couldn't.  Where on Gunsmoke were these people from? Even their dog was strange.

            In any case, Meryl had a disaster report to type and it'd do her well to stop thinking about the odd people who were probably far, far away by now.  Stretching a bit, she carefully climbed over her still snoring insurance partner. The two girls had gotten to share the only bed in the room since Vash had kindly insisted- (more like Meryl had unkindly threatened to beat his face in otherwise)- that they take it. Deftly stepping over Wolfwood who slept beside the bed on the floor, Meryl moved toward the desk with a flicker of her grey eyes to the wood chair in the corner containing the P.J. clad slumbering gunman.

            Meryl plopped into the chair in front of the desk where she'd set her typewriter before going to sleep and placed a sheet of paper in between the rolling presses. Nimble fingers poised over the keys, she thought a moment. Just how was she supposed to explain _this_ one? The chief at Bernardelli wasn't likely to believe that a giant ship had come crashing down from the sky in front of the sand-steamer.  He was less likely to believe there'd been four people and a dog inside of it all perfectly intact upon impact. If someone had told her the same story, Meryl wouldn't have taken them very seriously.

            "I hope you're not planning on typing that stupid report while everyone's still asleep."

            Vash spoke quietly from his corner, one aquamarine eye open to gaze at Meryl's profile. When did he wake up?

            "Besides," he continued when she only stared in reply, "can you really count that as a disaster? I didn't even have anything to do with it, and nobody was injured."

            Meryl's expression fell into a scowl. "Tell that to my sore backside."

            "Either way, I had nothing to do with the crash. How could I have? I was with you the whole time." Vash responded with a lopsided grin.

            Still scowling, Meryl sighed and pushed back from the desk. Her chair groaned at the rub of wood on wood resulting in a snort from Wolfwood and a strange remark from Milly.

            "I can't have more ice cream but some sake in my tummy is nice, mommy."

            Both Vash and Meryl gazed at the slumbering girl in puzzlement for a moment before the blond man resumed his crooked, little boy grin. It was one that Meryl found both moronic and adorable at once. 

            "Glad you see it my way- I don't feel like getting into any more trouble, you know?"

            Raven hair fell over Meryl's gaze as she shook her head.

            "It's not because I agree with you, Vash. The chief would never believe a story like this." She paused and averted her eyes in saying, "If nobody was injured then I don't really need to report it."

            Vash stood from his chair, "I won't tell if you won't," he mused with a wink.

            Meryl suppressed the urge to bean him over the head with her shoe. 

            At that moment, Milly rolled over on the bed and yawned noisily as she awoke. Wordlessly, the big girl scooted to the edge of the bed and promptly stepped on Wolfwood's stomach as she crossed over the floor.

            "Oof!" The priest's grey-blue eyes shot wide open, a curse ready on his lips for the one who so rudely awakened him. However, in seeing it'd been Milly, he concluded that the slightly airy-headed woman could be forgiven.

            Slowly, Wolfwood stood up, his blanket falling away to the floor as he dusted off his blue-black pants and stretched his muscles a bit. 

            "That floor is so uncomfortable- I hope you girls slept well enough on the bed," he quipped with a slight tone of envy to his gravely voice. 

            Milly grinned brightly. "I sure did, Mr. Priest! It sure was nice of you and Mr. Vash to let Meryl and I have the bed, and one good deed deserves another, like my little big sister always says."

            Meryl wasn't sure she'd like where this was going. 

            Vash looked up from his attempt to gel his hair back up into place. "I hope that means you're buying breakfast. I could go for some doughnuts right about now."

            "I wonder if they even serve breakfast in the afternoon," Wolfwood added, "but I'm damn hungry- it'd be great if you paid for our next meal to compensate for the hotel room."

            The insurance girls exchanged glances.  Milly was positive she hadn't said a word about buying anyone anything, but once again her words of wisdom had spoken a little too loudly. Meryl objected.

            "Excuse me, but don't you remember we hardly have any money left? Otherwise we wouldn't have had to share a room with you two!"

            "Touchy," Vash grinned. "But I get discounts at the restaurant- so you won't have to worry much. Besides, you still have a _little_ money left, don't you? I'm sure you can cover the cost of a doughnut or two."

            "Or eight," Wolfwood threw in with a knowing chuckle. 

            Meryl finally gave in. There was just no use arguing with those two, especially when they were together.  If it wasn't out of pure annoyance, it was because they made a point. She supposed it was only fair.

            Milly beamed, "Cheer up Meryl! We're getting paid tomorrow, so it's not a total loss, right?"

            The raven haired insurance woman had forgotten about that. She sighed. Well, then she supposed squandering away their last double dollars for doughnuts and coffee wouldn't be too horrible. She was a touch hungry herself.

            With an emphatic cheer coming from a supposedly starving gunman, the four proceeded to clean themselves up and change before heading out to the café. When they arrived the owner trembled a bit, recognizing Vash for who he was, and offered them the best seats in the quaint eatery, not to mention complimentary doughnuts. That was one less thing to worry about paying for…

*                       *                       *

            "Jet-person, feed Ed!!" Ed wailed, flailing her limber limbs maniacally as she rocked on the floor. She paused only for a moment to clutch her stomach, "Ed needs food! Tummy-tum is making weird noises, grrr!"

            With a stoic expression on his face, Jet turned his black eyes on the youngest BeBop crew member and sighed. "We're all hungry, Ed, not just you, we just don't have any money."

            Spike glanced up from tying his shoes, fingers moving to fix the loosened tie around his neck. He still looked half-asleep, but then, when he was relaxed, he always did have a just-rolled out of bed look about him. 

            "Correction- we have money, just not the right kind. What do you think we ought to do about that, Jet? We have to get out of here somehow."

            For the moment Ed put aside her hunger cries, pulling her laptop over and opening it to stare at the blank screen. No online connection- no nothing, just that stupid blank screen. She scowled at it and whined at her precious, broken computer. 

            The oldest crew member scratched under his chin then rubbed the top of his head as he thought about how to get out of this mess. Spike smirked.

            "I don't think rubbing your bald head is going to make us lucky, Jet. How 'bout a real plan?"

            "Shut up Spike," Jet replied flatly and crossed his arms, standing from the bed which gave a loud creak as he did. "I'm thinking…right now we need food. A guy can't think on an empty stomach…some bell peppers and beef sounds good about now."

            Chuckling, the green-haired man from mars didn't make a reply, but rather turned his gaze out the window. There was nothing but sand all around them, all around this town there was absolutely nothing. Well, almost nothing. From their place, Spike could see a weird bulb out on the left corner of the window.  He thought he'd seen that same bulb earlier from a distance emitting electrical surges. 

            The bathroom door creaking interrupted his thoughts, Faye emerging from the small room after being in there for the last five minutes. 

            "Jeez Faye, what'd you do in there?" Spike wrinkled his nose some, "I think I'll have to open the window."

            Arching a brow, Faye looked somewhat bewildered to the comment before humiliation set in on her. 

            "Listen here, Fuzzy! It was that stupid dog," she jutted a finger in Ein's direction, the Welsh Corgi looking positively guilty, "doesn't he know to go outside?!"

            Ed blinked at Faye's outburst and Ein whimpered softly.

            Jet chuckled, "Don't be so simple minded, Faye- there are no doggy runs in outer-space."

            "So much for being a genius data-dog," she muttered and blushed when her stomach growled. "Can't we do something about food? I'm so hungry- it's not good to ignore hunger pains you know!"

            "Calm down Faye, we're working on it," Jet rubbed the top of his head again, sighing. "It just ain't coming to me…"

            Ed stood up and saluted, "Soldier Ed reporting for duty!" Her fingers moved from her forehead to point at Faye, "Faye-Faye can do it! Pretty girl gets the guy, woooo!"

            That was it. Spike, Jet, and Ed stared at their female counterpart expectantly, knowing she'd eventually catch on to what was just suggested. Not that it was always easy for one to figure out everything the little hacker genius said. As soon as Faye _did_ catch on, she immediately tried to back out of it. However, she knew she had charm, and looks, and she knew if she didn't have something to eat soon someone was going to get hurt. 

            "Fine," she said with a sigh, "I'll do it. But you three _so_ owe me."

            Ed cart-wheeled into the door and rubbed her skull through the thick mass of red-orange hair, though grinning widely.

            "Food!"

*                       *                       *

            It took about half an hour before the crew of the BeBop found the small café in New Oregon. The town wasn't that big; in fact it was a lot smaller than what they'd thought it'd be. This was found out more or less the hard way- there were a lot of wrong turns that led the crew straight to the wide expanse of desert just outside of the cluster of sand colored buildings. Asking directions was a no go- especially when there were two men who were as hard-headed as they come, a strange "it" looking kid and her weird dog, and Faye the instantaneous attention getter. 

            Either people were afraid of the group or couldn't bring themselves to talk because they couldn't stop gawking. Apparently none of these backwater homebodies had seen anything like Jet, Spike, Faye, and Ed.

            In any case, a mild case of embarrassment overcame the four when the café was found at last. Naturally it was the only building painted with bright sun yellow and blue with big red lettering that read "Cactus Café". Nevertheless, there was a certain amount of exuberance in the female members of the crew- they were starving.

            "Faye-Faye's gonna get food for Ed?" The lanky girl inquired with an auspicious gleam in her amber eyes. "Food for Ed's tummy-tum-tum?"

            Faye groaned lightly but being so hungry herself she supposed she really couldn't back out. "Yes, food for Ed- but I'm not promising anything." A thin hand brushed back some purple hair. "My womanly charms might not be completely irresistible since I'm working on an empty stomach."

            Spike rolled his eyes, "Please, spare us the drama, Faye." He grew more irate by the minute- he hadn't had a cigarette in about thirteen hours. "Can we get on with this?"

            To comply with Spike's request, the group strode into the Cactus Café, Faye in the lead with Ed and Ein bringing up the rear. They could hardly all fit in the foyer and that was hardly a crowd by any means. 

            The little sweaty man behind the counter's eyes nearly bugged out when he saw Miss Faye Valentine, though, and right away the others following her got a good feeling that there'd be some good eating fairly soon. As Faye worked her charms to the best of her ability, the others merely watched- with the exception of Ed who was getting a kick out of poking a small cactus potted plant beside her. 

            Over the ledge that separated the foyer from the main eating grounds of the café sat an irritable black haired woman and her air-headed insurance partner along with a blond haired gunman and a gun toting priest.  They were feasting on the free doughnuts and sipping their coffee as well as partly enjoying the eggs and toast (it wasn't that great of a breakfast, but to Vash, any food was good food)- completely oblivious to what was going on the opposite side of the wall. 

            On top of the ledge a black cat with exceptionally large green-yellow eyes lazed about, tail swishing to and fro slowly.  She watched everything vigilantly and when her gaze rested upon the dog standing with the crew on the foyer's side of the ledge, her mouth opened and a very flat "_meow"_ was sounded.

            Ein's ears perked, his head cocked to one side, and his brown eyes peered up. To him, getting that cat was more important right now than any data-processing or bone catching was.  A loud bark emitted from the Welsh Corgi and Ed spun around, catlike eyes wide as she could easily foresee what was about the take place.

            "Uh-oh…" the red mop topped girl said rather blandly, then tugged on Jet's shirt. 

            Jet's eyes were already on the dog, following Ein's gaze to the cat on the ledge who had now stood, arched her back and hissed loudly. The little sweaty man behind the counter craned his neck, looking past Faye to see the scene and proceeded to scold the crew for bringing an animal inside the café.

            "What kind of stupid double-standard is that? That cat's in here, isn't it?" Faye screamed, about ready to let loose her wrath, which would've included her massive feeling of insult by having attention taken from her by a _dog_. 

            "I'm sorry, miss, but…"

            In that instant the little man was cut off by another bark, followed by a crash. The cat had leaped from her perch and over Ein and he pivoted to chase the black fur-ball. Immediately the four leapt backwards as the chase began- Ein and the cat wove between people's legs, heading right for the heart of the eatery- the kitchen. But this wasn't to say they didn't wreak their havoc on the rest of the restaurant first.

            People peacefully eating brunch were rudely interrupted when the black cat pounced on their tables, following Ein who knocked over glasses, pushed off table cloths and careened into a waiter carrying a tray of Cactus Café Specials. The noise was nigh on deafening- the cat hissed, Ein barked, and people screamed.

            Among them were the insurance girls, gunman, and the priest, who were one of the tables assaulted. Vash's doughnuts were crushed and Milly's Ceylon tea and bowl of pudding had spilled all over the table. Both of them had a fit. Needless to say, Meryl had gone off like a rocket, pounding the table as she stood up. 

            "What the hell is going on here?!" she shouted, watching the two animals tear across the dining room floor and straight into the kitchen.

            There more crashes and cries could be heard, along with some big time cursing. 

Vash stood up and peered over the ledge, spotting the BeBop crew, then pointed at Faye. His eyes grew large and watery.

            "It's the pretty lady! My fair maiden has returned!"

            Upon hearing these words, Faye's green eyes met Vash's enlarged ones, and she groaned. "Oh great- as if we aren't in enough trouble…"

            Naturally, Spike found time for dry humor. "Look Faye, it's your boyfriend. You should've told us you were meeting him here and saved us the trouble of hurricane Ein."

            "This isn't funny, Spike!" Faye snapped.

            Jet arched a bushy black brow, "I hate to interrupt this little spar of yours, kiddies, but shouldn't someone go catch Ein before more damage is done?"

            All eyes went to Ed who blinked, puzzled.

            From the other side of the ledge, Meryl climbed onto a chair to see what Vash was gawking at- although she couldn't really say she was surprised to see the lustful Faye Valentine on the other side. Of course…who else? Her scowl deepened and she slapped Vash's cheek, leaving a red handprint.

            "You idiot! Don't you ever think of anything else? And look at this mess!"

            Wolfwood nonchalantly lit a cigarette, grey-blue eyes watching the dog and cat rip out of the kitchen for another round in the dining room- this time they managed to knock the café's owner on his rear end. 

            Milly jumped to Vash's defense, "But sempai, Mr. Vash didn't cause this!"

            Vash rubbed his stinging cheek and whined, "Ouch! I didn't do anything, why does everyone always pick on me? It's just not fair!"

            The priest chuckled, "It's just your destiny to get picked on, tongari…duck." The last word from his mouth was so abrupt, nobody knew what to make of it until the cat had leapt onto her final resting place- Vash's head.

            Vash wailed maniacally as the claws dug into his scalp, arms flailing "Get it off of me!"

            Ein barked loudly up at the feline, causing Vash to recoil even more. 

            "Rabid dog! Rabid dog!"

            At that moment, Ed ran up, her arms flinging around Ein's middle and she struggled to pick him up to drag him away. 

            "It's the Vash-person! Ooh…" her eyes widened at the cat on his head, "cat-hat Vash, Vash with a cat-hat!" 

            Meryl wrinkled her nose at the strange child- usually she liked children but this one was just too weird. Milly, on the other hand, beamed.

            "Hullo!"

            Before Ed could reply, however, the café owner skulked up to her, stumbling over the mess and having had to go past several annoyed customers. 

            Jet, Spike, and Faye had come out of hiding from behind the ledge and didn't seem too optimistic about the results of Ein's escapade. 

            "Is this your dog?" the owner asked crossly.

            Spike wished Ed had said no- but of course she didn't. The green-haired man looked to the smoking Wolfwood and spoke.

            "Mind if I bum a cigarette? It might be a long time before I get the chance for another one."

**A/N** ^_^ Well, I certainly hope the small wait was worth the chapter! The next will be up shortly! (I hope!).

**Upcoming Chapter**

Chapter Eleven- Go, Go Cactus Man

Summary:

The BeBop crew is doing time- in the kitchen that is! To pay for Ein's damages to the Cactus Café, they're stuck doing the dirty work in the kitchen, and that means dish duty! However, they do a little more than their share and with some pity from the owner, end up leaving with 100 double dollars in their pockets. This is enough for a couple of Tomases, which are needed for a short trek to check on the BeBop- guess who gets the job of teaching the lucky ones how to ride? ^_^ Mr. Vash the Stampede, ladies and gents…


	11. Part 11: Go,Go Cactus Man

**A/N** OK, who's happy? Another update! Whee! Be happy, happy I say! O.O Are you happy yet? Good! ^.^

Jess Perry- Yes ma'am, Faye is the oldest member of the BeBop (she's 74 to be precise- wish I look like that when I'm 74!)- but what woman is actually going to want to admit this unless she's using it to one up someone else? (Example- in one session she's bantering with Spike and says she is older than him, after all. ^.^). Anyhow- glad that you enjoyed the chapter and the humor- and feel free to point out any small mistakes or even some big ones!

Luis- Ah ^.^ you've come back to review! How lovely! There was a lot of stress leading up to that one scene…on me, not the characters! Can you believe it took me 4 days to write that chapter? *shakes head* how annoying was that? Gah! Anyhow- no need to look forward to this chapter…coz…it's already here! ^_^

Disclaimers: I do not own Trigun or Cowboy BeBop or any characters from said titles (no matter how much I wish it so *drools* Spike-person…Vash-kun…Wolfwood…Knives…hehe). I am making no sort of profit from the telling of this work of fiction, it is merely for my reading pleasure and for my lovely readers' as well. Any likeness to actual events, people, or places is purely coincidental (or is it? Muahaha) and the events taking place are directly from my warped little mind, so please do not sue me. Have a nice day and happy reading!

**PS** Ed makes a reference to a character in several CB sessions- can you figure out who it is? Kudos and credit to everyone who figures it out!

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**Vacation**

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**Session Eleven**

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**Go, Go, Cactus Man**

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            The sound of dishes clinking together and water sloshing about was all that could be heard in the general vicinity of the Cactus Café's kitchen. The four shipmates of the Cowboy BeBop sullenly scrubbed, scoured, and dried dishes, glasses, and silverware- this was their sentence for the damages of Ein's escapades. The grand total of twelve broken plates, seven dry cleaning bills, six broken table legs, and four ruined tablecloths came to 2500 double dollars…ballpark. Of course the crew had no such money- they weren't even sure if they had that much in woolongs. 

            After the incident had happened, Vash felt inclined to bail the four out of their mess.  He'd come across these confounded black cats almost everywhere he went and they usually caused him a bit of trouble. In fact, he was convinced it was the same damn cat following him everywhere.  But not only did he sympathize with their canine-feline fiasco, Vash wanted to rescue his damsel in distress- Faye Valentine.

            However, Meryl had (unfortunately) knocked some sense into him.

            _"Just where are you going to get 2500 double dollars? You were broke an hour ago when we came to breakfast, and I don't think it just regenerated in your pockets!"_

If only it could…

            Though this still held true when Vash dug into every pocket of his red trench coat and managed only to produce forty double dollars.  He could only spare half of that (hey, a man…or plant, needs his doughnuts!) and he had looked to Wolfwood to help out.

            _The priest simply shrugged as he lit another cigarette. "Sorry, but I can't help them out- my funds have hit rock bottom paying for our room at the hotel."_

            He did, however, offer a single cigarette to Faye, Jet, and Spike- Spike had already been smoking one, so for this he was grateful he got a second-and this seemed to sustain some faith that Wolfwood was indeed a generous priest, no matter how unconventional he appeared. 

            Meryl offered them nothing but her scowl, which had become quite prominent over the past two days.  To her these people who fell from the sky in their lost piece of technology ship meant nothing but trouble. She had a feeling the mischief caused so far by their presence was not the worst of it.  

            Milly, on the other hand, had more sympathy than her short tempered counterpart. She offered them at the very least some kind words.

            _"Gee, I really hope your luck turns around soon," she beamed, "I'd hate to see you getting into more trouble, especially since you're so short on money. But, as my big, big brother always says- every cloud has a silver lining."_

_            This caused the crew to exchange puzzled expressions. Was this woman always so cheerful? Jet nudged Spike in the side._

_            "She remind you of anybody?"_

_            Spike stuffed his hands in his pockets, cigarette snubbed and ground with one in reserve. He shrugged. "It's her voice- she sounds like someone familiar."_

_            Ed overheard their whispered conversation and grinning, still holding onto Ein –(who would later be tied to the rail outside the café for safekeeping)- put in her two cents._

_            "Shucks howdy, y'all! Howdy shucks and sayonara!"_

_            Make that her half cent input. _

_            Nevertheless, the question was resolved- they both knew who it was Ed was impersonating.  This also made them wonder just how many bounties had suddenly been lined up once they'd gone AWOL from the Milky Way. Jet guessed about twenty, and he had a feeling there was at least one somewhere on Venus. Their vacation might've raked in some serious woolong…_

            …But now they were trapped on a planet that might as well have been a massive beach with no water and broke in the sense that they were poor in the wrong kind of currency. It felt like a nightmare and whoever was the source refused to wake up. To top it off, they had dish duty for what felt like eons. 

            No one spoke. Everyone just kept on scrubbing, scouring, and drying. There was an assembly line going, entailing Jet as the dish washer, Spike as the pan scourer, Faye at rinse duty, and Ed as the dish drier. A rhythm of sounds began slowly but steadily until it became a monotonous drag. 

            _Slosh, scrub, slosh, clink…slosh, scrub, slosh, clink…_

            It was enough to make anyone sleepy, and it'd grown so repetitive that when there was a break in the rhythm everyone jumped halfway out of their skins. 

            _Slosh,scrub,slosh,clink__…slosh,scrub,slosh,CRASH!_

Ed's amber eyes went wide, staring down at the glass that had slipped through the (umpteenth) damp towel, her fingers, and shattered on the floor. 

            "Oops," she murmured, too tired for one of her more elongated reactions, and then waited to be reprimanded by one of the adults. 

            Nobody said a word. Seven hours had passed since they first started this god-awful job without so much as a break in the action or a word spoken between them. Fatigue had set in almost instantaneously. Ed stared in disbelief.

            "You guys broken?" She tapped both her temples with her forefingers, bare toes wriggling on the floor as she stepped back to avoid the broken glass.

            "How much do you think that one glass set us back, Jet?" Spike finally spoke, making Ed sigh in relief. 

            Crossing his muscular arms, Jet tried to figure it out.

            "If this were Mars or Ganymede, I'd say a good two or three woolong. Since we're _stuck_ in this back water place, who knows? Maybe it's ten of these…double dollar things."

            "What water?" Faye muttered. Now she was raring to go. "This place is so dry, it's horrible for my perfect complexion!"

            "There's such a thing as modesty, Faye, try it sometime." Spike quipped dryly. 

            "Well there's such a thing as a haircut, Fuzzy, _you_ should try _that_ sometime!" Faye huffed, putting her rubber gloved hands on her hips. The yellow latex matched her outfit almost perfectly. "It's so damn hot in here! And I'm dying of thirst!"

            Ed's stomach growled as though on cue. "Ooh, Ed's tummy is still hungry! Ed wants a chicken…or a chicken bone."

            Jet turned back toward the sink. "We'll work on that once we're through," he snapped his own yellow gloves back into place- seeing Jet with a pair of latex kitchen gloves was a sight to see on its own. "We've only got this little bit left to…WHAT?!"

            His eyes rounded when he saw where a short stack of dishes should've been. It'd grown about a foot in the last five minutes. 

            Whatever morale that had been left instantly vaporized. Faye flailed her arms, residual water on her gloves speckling Ed's face. 

            "How did _those_ get there?!"

            "Wish I knew," Jet grumbled. 

            Ed crouched down to sweep the broken glass onto her dishtowel then threw it away in the garbage can behind her. Sluggishly she returned to her place at the end of the line, next to Faye. However, as soon as Jet plunged his hands back into the now lukewarm water in the basin, the kitchen door swung wide open.

            The small man who owned the Cactus Café –(an increasing awareness came about small men owning the businesses in New Oregon)- sauntered in with a smile. He was greeted by four blank stares. Just what in the heck could this guy smile about?

            "Good news!"

            "Thrilled to hear it," Spike replied sardonically.

            If Mr. Cactus Café had found offense in the sarcasm, he didn't make any note of it. 

            "You're free to go! The expenses have been paid off in full!"

            Faye seemed positively ecstatic. "We washed all 2500 double dollars off? We're done?!"

            Mr. Cactus Café laughed loudly. "It would've taken you weeks to pay that off by only doing dishes, little lady."

            She arched a brow and stared down her nose at him. Just who was he calling little? A warning glance from Jet prevented any harsh words from escaping Faye's lips.

            "So then what exactly are you saying? Someone bailed us from lifelong dish duty?" Spike asked, patting his hidden breast pocket. The lone cigarette remained from Wolfwood- that would help relieve some stress.

            The café owner chuckled, winking at Faye. "If I'd known you were all in cahoots with the Stampede, this whole mess would've been cleared from the get-go. See- I thought he was just trying to be nice, helping you out earlier. If I'd known…"

            "In cahoots?" Jet inquired with an underlying tone of disbelief. "With that moron?"

            A laugh erupted from Mr. Cactus Café, tears streaming down his cheeks. Jet didn't find it as funny. 

            "What?"

            "Mr. Stampede said you'd say something like that. He said it's because he's dating your sister."

            Mirth was far from the expression on Faye's face. If steam could have poured from her ears it would have. Ed pointed at her female crewmate. 

            "You mean Faye-Faye?"

            The owner nodded, "He paid the debt in full. Missy, you're one lucky gal to have someone that devoted. By the way, when's the wedding?"

            The shock on her face could hardly be described. It was something likened to her betting on every single dog or pony in a race and not winning a single woolong. 

            "Gee Faye, I didn't know you were getting married. Congratulations." Spike smirked as she fumed. 

            Mr. Cactus Café chuckled, looking to Spike. "You must be her ex- yes, Mr. Stampede said you were the jealous type- I can hear it in your voice."

            It was Spike's turn to look absolutely shocked. "Me and _her_?!"

            Jet cracked a smile. 

            Ed whooped, "Yay! A wedding! Ed can be the flowery-flower Ed!"

            Raising a brow, Jet wondered how she this kid could be a genius when she was oh so simple minded. 

            Faye continued fuming but did so silently. She wasn't about to look  a gift horse in the mouth, even if it was a gift horse from an imbecile. 

            As they moved to leave and collect Ein, who could be hear whimpering outside the doors, the owner raised his hand to stop them.

            "Wait just a moment, folks! I've yet to give you your dues! You worked seven long hours without a single complaint, the kitchen looks great, and there's not a broken glass in sight."

            Ed looked momentarily guilty. Nobody noticed.

            Mr. Cactus Café handed an envelope to Jet. "One hundred double dollars."

            It wasn't much. However, it was better than no double dollars, and this was one hundred more than they had before. 

            Without so much as a thank you to him, however (as if one was even deserved) the crew stumbled out the door, tossing their yellow gloves on the ground as they left. Their first step outside told them that night had already fallen. An entire day had been wasted just by washing dishes. 

            Ed tentatively took another step and looked around, her golden eyes seeming to glow in the dark. 

            "Ein?"

            A responsive bark sounded from a bit down the way, far from where the dog had been tied in front of the café. Ed turned around to see the Welsh corgi bounding down to her, yipping, and a tall gangly figure chasing after him.

            Jet, Spike, and Faye turned sharply to look in the canine's direction as Ed let out the most girly sounding shriek at the sight of the approaching figure. If anything else, that pretty much confirmed the eccentric kid's gender.

            "It's a strange, stranger, stranger-man alien!"

            If anyone was the alien…

            When Ein's pursuer drew closer, though, it was clear he wasn't an alien, although it was a debatable subject matter. 

            "Hello!" Vash the Stampede grinned, raising one hand in greeting. 

            Faye lunged at him and punched him, her fist landing hard against his cheek. "What the hell were you thinking you spiky haired moron?! Your _girlfriend_?!"

            The gunman rubbed his cheek, perplexed for a moment, and then took on a sparkly eyed, goofy grinning visage. "Wow, that's a mean left hook there, honey, it hurt so good."

            Seething, Faye clenched her hands into fists but didn't say anything more. Rather, Jet spoke up, asking the question they all had on their minds.

            "Why did you help us? Don't get me wrong, man, we appreciate it, but you didn't have to and you did."

            Vash continued grinning, "I felt bad. That wasn't your fault, what happened, so I pulled some strings…besides, I could've leave this damsel in distress, could I? Doing dishes makes your hands all pruned."

            Nobody mentioned they had worn gloves. Nor did anyone ask how Vash got the money to pay Mr. Cactus Café when he didn't have it seven hours earlier. Instead, they turned around to head back to the inn. They were tired…and hungry. It was a shame there was no food to be eaten. 

            Ed's stomach growled loudly and her amber eyes widened before she blushed and grinned. "Ed's still hungry!"

            Faye replied flatly, "You're not the only one."

            "Even Jet's beefless bell peppers and beef sounds good right now," Spike agreed, hands in his pocket, lanky form slouching. 

            Jet arched a brow, eyeballing Spike. "At least you got to eat- which reminds me…why weren't any of us smart enough to bring food with us?"

            There was no answer. As the crew stood there pondering this question, undoubtedly trying to decide who to blame for it, Vash grinned broadly. When he didn't say anything, four pairs of eyes turned on him expectantly, waiting for him to give the reason behind the smile.

            "You four are so funny," he laughed, aqua eyes shining. "I'll cave this time and give you something to eat. But first thing tomorrow, you should go back out to your ship and get what you need from it."

            Faye nearly dropped dead. "You mean _walk_ all the way back there? It took us forever just to get _here_! I'm too old for this stuff."

            The gunman quirked a brow, "Pardon me, but you don't look a day over twenty-two; how can you be too old?"

            Spike coughed lightly. It was a secret that only the crewmembers shared, and most of the time, it was a touchy subject.

            "Looks can be deceiving, ooh, spooky!" Ed wriggled her fingers then resumed clutching her stomach, clenching her teeth in an uncomfortable grin.

            Faye only glared, her jade eyes shooting daggers at the kid. However, a sigh escaped her lips. Going back for forgotten accommodations would probably be a good idea. Besides- she really needed her make-up, some clean clothes, and her issue of Venus Fashion Monthly. 

            "I don't feel like walkin' all the way back," Jet grunted, "but the BeBop needs to be checked on. I saw the way those people were looking at my baby, ready to scavenge whatever they wanted. So," he paused to look over a still grinning Vash, "just how do we get back there?"

            "You mean you don't remember?" Vash inquired incredulously.

            "How could we? It was night time and you and your friends were leading us. We couldn't see a damn thing," Jet snapped, his patience wearing thin. "It's a long way back, too- it took a long time just to get here."

            The gunman tilted his head to the side, "Well, if we hadn't have gotten a bit lost, it wouldn't have taken so long, really. But if you really don't feel like walking, maybe you could rent a Tomas or two."

            "A…Tomas?" Spike repeated the word to himself once more. "Isn't that someone's name?"

            Vash blinked, "It could be, sure, but you ride Tomases- everyone knows that."

            "Everyone but the out-of-towners," Spike mumbled. 

            The gunman laughed, "Well then! I think I'll make it my duty to show you how to ride them then.  But we can do that tomorrow. What do you say we go and eat? My treat, ok?"

            Ed whooped in joy. "Yippee! Food for Ed!" As she danced in place, Ed raced around her slender form, barking loudly. 

            Even though Faye still wanted to beat the living daylights out of him, she figured the abuse could be put off if Vash was willing to provide them with dinner.  She knew he wasn't a bad guy, his heart was in the right place, but he had to be one of the most perverted, girl-crazy men she'd ever met.

            The BeBop Crew consented, their stomachs screaming over their brains, and they followed Vash for dinner.  The real adventure wouldn't begin until the next day…

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            "What the hell is that thing?" Faye Valentine pointed at three very strange looking furred beasts.

            Vash stood before the woman and her crewmates, dressed down in a pair of jeans and a white button up shirt, un-tucked and concealing the silver gun holstered at his side. He grinned widely.

            "So who's riding with me?"

            Faye arched a brow. "You didn't answer my question!"

            "It's a Tomas; I told you that yesterday, don't you remember?" The gunman mused, still smiling easily to the group. 

            Jet shook his head, "I am _not_ riding one of those funky looking things."

            Ed flailed her arms, jumping, "Ed wants to ride the furry Tomas! Pick Ed; pick Ed to ride in the wind, wind, windy desert!"

            Spike merely stood there enjoying the cigarette from the pack he bought with his share of the remainder of the double dollars earned.  

            Vash stared at the group.  The big guy didn't want any part of it- and no offense meant to him, but he was almost as big as the Tomas was, so speed would've been a serious issue.  The crazy kid might fall off…or try to go gallivanting halfway to Little Timbuktu for all her knew, though she certainly was enthused about it. 

            That left only three other candidates and Vash was not going to pick the dog. 

            "You two," he said gesturing to Spike and Faye. "You're the best ones to go, so saddle up and we'll ride into the sunset."

            Spike ground his cigarette into the sand, rather indifferent about if he went or not.  "Its morning, you idiot," he berated rather calmly, "The sun rose three hours ago- don't you remember waking us all up?"

            Vash shuffled the ground with his feet and grinned again. "Sorry about that- I figured you'd want to get an early start, but I didn't know who would be going. But I see now that Spike and Faye are the best candidates for Tomas-riders. So let's go!"

            The *Martian with green hair stepped forward to one of the three Tomases, giving it another once over before he grabbed the reigns. "So how do you ride one of these things? Like a horse?"

            Faye sauntered up to another Tomas, eyeing it as it pressed a long furred nose to her shoulder. To her it looked like a furry ostrich, or something of the like. 

            "Ugh, horses…I bet on those, not ride them." She grumbled but knew she'd ride the animal to the ship anyway. She had personal effects to gather that she didn't need anyone else's grubby hands on. 

            Vash tilted his head at the mention of the word horse. "What's a horse?" he asked, rather innocently.  Nobody on Gunsmoke ever saw one before and seldom heard of them. The Tomas was their main source of transportation if they couldn't go by vehicle. 

            The BeBop crew exchanged wary expressions- none of them felt like explaining it at the moment. Jet waved a hand. 

            "Get going then if you're gonna go. Spike- can you remember to bring my Bonsais?" the built man raised his bushy black brows to his crewmate, staring pointedly. His precious trees hadn't been tended to for two days now- he didn't even know if they survived the worm hole.

            Spike only nodded, swinging up onto the saddle of the Tomas rather easily, the animal bearing him without budging or sound of complaint. Vash had already mounted, appearing to be perched rather awkwardly on the saddle.  The men waited for Faye to finally jump onto the remaining Tomas, and when she did, the animal made an odd noise but didn't move. 

            "Um, are you sure this is safe?" Faye questioned, arching a brow to Vash. 

            The gunman laughed, waving a hand nonchalantly, though was sweating visibly on his forehead. "Sure! It's absolutely safe, I do it all the time, so don't you worry fair maiden!"

            "Oh brother," Spike muttered, wishing he had another cigarette. 

            Ed moved to the Tomases, pouting. "Ed wanted to go! Why can't Ed go and be a cowgirl?"

            Ein barked his protest as well, but Jet called them both back. Skinny kid and dog, huffing, backed away from the strange beasts. 

            "Faye-Faye, bring my new microchip back with you! Ed can fix her computer with it!! It's vital to our escape, escape from this desert, and sandy, spooky place!"

            The woman scoffed but nodded her consent to do so and wiped her forehead. "Can we go now before I die of sunstroke here?"

            Vash raised a hand, the other holding the reigns. "As you wish, my fair lady! Hi-ho Silver, away!" 

            As he shouted, his heels kicked at the Tomas' sides, causing the animal to jerk forward with its rider bobbing precariously atop. Unfortunately, the other two Tomases followed suit, though Spike and Faye had a much better chance of staying on their mounts. 

            Spike growled as they weaved back and forth over the sand, leaving a laughing Jet and Ed far behind. 

            "Gah, I thought you said you did this all the time!!"

            Vash's aqua eyes had gone wide as his Tomas veered wildly to dodge a group of cacti. "Kyaah!!" he laughed nervously, "I do! I never said I did it well! Just try not to fall off, ok?!"

            Faye clung to the Tomas as tightly as she could, emerald eyes unblinking in fear that she'd not see an obstacle and end up careening over the head and breaking her neck.  She shuddered.

            "You moron! You're gonna get us killed! When we get to the ship, I'm going to claw your eyes out!"

            "Easy does it, Faye," Spike called, bringing his Tomas beside his female crewmate. "He's our guide, remember that- if you promise to kill him _after_ we get back, I'll help you hold him down."           

            "Then we have an agreement!" she shrieked, swinging her head to miss an outstretched cactus limb. "That's if we don't get killed on the way there, Fuzzy!"

            Spike chuckled and kept his mouth shut, though from time to time would laugh aloud at the hard time the gunman's mount was giving him. It was going to be an interesting ride…

**A/N** ^_^; So sorry this chapter is late in being posted- thank you so much for being patient though, readers, I hope I didn't disappoint you!

Upcoming Chapter:

Session 12- Blood & Thunder

_When Spike, Faye, and Vash finally arrive at the site of the crash, they're completely oblivious to what shall soon happen. As the BeBop crewmates gather their belongings, Vash patiently waits outside and finds himself face to face with none other than Midvalley the Horn Freak. But the Master Saxer has brought company, and the first showdown begins…_

_**By the way! If you remembered that I mentioned the reference of the character reference Ed impersonates, then make sure you're thinking of that character RIGHT NOW…are you thinking? Read the line again if you have to! ^__^ I'll post the answer on the next chapter and you'll have an honorable mention if you guessed correctly XD_


	12. Part 12: Blood & Thunder

**A/N** Another day, another chapter ^_^ This one probably had a chance of coming out a lot quicker coz I wrote some of it while I was at work…then again, I did the same for the last chapter and it took quite a bit. Well…^_^ at least it's been written, ne?

So anyway- you'll have to forgive any mistakes I make on this chapter. I was half asleep when I wrote it and anything that this chapter entails might have repeats of prior chapters or mistakes where it concerns the actual anime or manga of either title.  If you find something, please, PLEASE let me know so I can change it- I'm also up to suggestions ^_^.

Ah yes! As promised, the answer to the lovely riddle left to you, readers… The lines given were:

            _This caused the crew to exchange puzzled expressions. Was this woman always so cheerful? Jet nudged Spike in the side._

_            "She remind you of anybody?"_

_            Spike stuffed his hands in his pockets, cigarette snubbed and ground with one in reserve. He shrugged. "It's her voice- she sounds like someone familiar."_

_            Ed overheard their whispered conversation and grinning, still holding onto Ein – (who would later be tied to the rail outside the café for safekeeping) - put in her two cents._

_            "Shucks howdy, y'all! Howdy shucks and sayonara!"_

Could you guess who Edward was imitating? If you said Judy from _Big Shot_ on Cowboy BeBop, you guessed right! If you didn't guess it and just waited to see the answer then…you're no fun. .

Disclaimers: I do not own, nor am I affiliated with either of the Trigun or Cowboy BeBop titles, anime, or manga. I do not know either creator (though that'd be cool, coz their work kicks ass ^_^) and am no way affiliated with the producers of the shows or books. (Yes…I was redundant just then…so sue me -.-). I'm making no profit from this other than the entertainment for myself, friends, and readers, so don't sue me, coz ya won't get a penny…or a woolong…or a double dollar…nyah.

Vacation

Session 12

Blood & Thunder

            Ed stared at her blank computer screen, fingers poised over the keys, ready to type.  She sat with legs sprawled on either side of the device, bare toes wriggling under the shade of the inn's patio roof.  Ein, as per usual, lay with his nose between his front paws just behind the gangly girl. 

            Jet Black sat in the rickety rocking chair, arms crossed and battling the fatigue that'd pursued him since awaking.  The wood of the chair groaned softly under the man's muscled weight.  It was shocking it could hold him at all.  

            He yawned and turned his eyes to Ed.

            "How long ago did they leave?"

            The mop-topped girl pointed to the sun-dial she'd produced in the sand using a sun bleached stick and a triangle shaped rock. 

            "An hour and twelve minutes ago…" she sighed, stretching her arms forward.

            The big man groaned. It felt like they'd been sitting there for ages. 

            "What are you doin' anyway? Isn't that thing broken?"

            Ed sighed again. "The internal micro-micro chip was zapped, fried, toast when we went through the wormhole. Ed forgot before, but there's a backup chip stored safely away- maybe it was spared."

            Jet seemed skeptical. "What if it wasn't spared?"

            "Ed will be sad and disappointed," she pulled the corners of her mouth down and let out a quivering whimper.

            "I see…" was the reply- and then- "how long now?"

            The girl flopped back, arms outstretched past her orange-red hair, her back landing on the Welsh corgi. Ein jerked his head up, brown eyes wide as he let out a yelp, then shook off the familiar jolt and went back to sleep.

            "One hour and fourteen minutes, sir Papa-Jet…ooh, Ed is bored!"

            At that precise moment, Millie Thompson bumbled through the door from inside of the inn.  The brunette girl beamed, light blue eyes sparkling at the remainder of the BeBop crew. 

            "Oh hey Mr. Jet, and Mr. Ed!"

            Ed blinked. "Ed's not a Mister! Ed's a little girl!"

            Millie turned slightly red at her mistake- even though she'd been the one to tell the others that Ed was a girl when they'd all met. 

            "Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry, it's just such an unusual name for a girl to have."

            Ed sat up straight. "Ed named her self this because it's different."

            Jet rolled his eyes at the comment. Everything about the computer hacker was different and beyond. 

            "That's good," Millie prompted, nodding. "As my little big brother always says, everyone is un-nique, so they should always let people know it."

            "I think you mean 'unique'," Jet corrected.

            "That's what I said, un-nique." Millie continued to smile obliviously.

            The lanky girl grinned in agreement to the statement.  She quite liked this Millie Thompson woman.  

            Jet remained indifferent.  He thought the group on this planet was slightly strange, though not nearly as strange as Ed.  Though, what could he really have expected? This was basically an alien planet, even though everyone seemed human enough. 

            The one called Wolfwood was probably the most normal of the bunch- he kind of reminded Jet of Spike, when he really thought about it.  Millie and Vash seemed to have a screw loose, and that Meryl lady-

            "-Millie! Do you know where that broom head went off to this time?!"

            The raven haired woman burst through the door, seething, before Jet could finish the thought. 

            "Gee, Meryl, I really don't know. I haven't seen him all day."

            "That's just like him to take off without warning!"

            Jet took the opportunity to finish his thought- Meryl was in dire need of anger management. She'd probably be cute if she weren't so sweaty and high-strung.

            "Spooky broom man went with Faye-Faye and Spike-person to the Be-BeBop."

            Meryl's expression darkened momentarily at the mention of Faye. 'That hussy,' she thought. 

            "Back to your ship? How?" the woman mused aloud. "Certainly not by bus- there are none running this early…not by foot either. They didn't go by Tomas, did they?"

            "Yeah, they went on those funky, furry ostrich things." Jet confirmed. 

            Millie blinked, "Oh…Meryl, Mr. Vash isn't very good at riding Tomases."

            Ed sat on Ein's back, limbs flailing in imitation of the gunman's riding technique as the corgi blinked and whined lightly in protest.

            "They rode over the sandy sand, fa-a-a-ar into the horizon!"

            The insurance women stared at Ed for a moment, wondering where her boundless energy came from.

            "In any case, he'd better not cause any more trouble.  That idiot is going to be the death of me, I swear!"

            Millie gazed at her partner. "I think that would make Mr. Vash sad, Meryl."

            The shorter woman tried not to laugh.  The big girl was so simple minded sometimes…or all the time. "Then it would serve him right. Ugh! He makes me want to rip my hair out!"

            "Meryl…can we go buy some pudding, please?" 

            Jet and Ed seemed hopeful at the mention of any kind of food, though they were puzzled as to how Millie could change subject so quickly. 

            The leftovers from dinner the night before might have had a chance of sticking around until the next day.  However, when Hurricane Faye is hungry, no food stands any chance. Jet thought he might've been drooling, thinking of the biscuits, potatoes, and crisped chicken they'd eaten. He pushed the thought of food away and resumed listening to the two women.

            "Millie, I'm afraid we can't afford those luxuries right now. I know we just got paid after compensating Mr. Wolfwood and Vash for our accommodations, we don't have that much left to spend."

            "Oh…" the disappointment read clear on the cheery girl's face, her eyes downcast. 

            A squeak sounded from the inn's door and then a white cuffed hand lit on Millie's shoulder lightly. 

            "C'mon big girl," a familiar and gravely voice spoke, "the pudding will be my treat today."

            "Oh, Mr. Priest, thank you so much!" she flung her arms tightly around the unsuspecting Wolfwood, who then dropped the cigarette he had lit onto the patio. 

            The ashes glowed red and Ed jumped to her feet. "Fire in the hole! Fire in the ho-o-ole! All fire-fighters on duty!" As everyone watched, wondering, the red-haired girl stomped on the still burning cigarette until she was satisfied it'd been put out, then sat back down to stare at her computer.

            Jet glanced away and towards Meryl. "That guy's a priest?"

            Meryl nodded. "Yes- or so he says.  He's not your average clergyman, that's for sure. He smokes, drinks, gambles, and carries a weapon. But he has a good heart, and I think that's all that really matters."

            "Don't forget that I curse and ride a motorcycle." Wolfwood added, gently prying off the pudding-crazed woman from his person. "Ahh…my beautiful, shiny Angelina II…"

            "Sounds like my kind of preacher man," Jet grunted with a smirk. "I bet you don't make too much cash though."

            The lanky priest shrugged with an easy smile. "I make do.  Today I made fifteen double dollars by listening to the townspeople's confessions."

            "You charge for confessions?" Jet asked, quirking a brow. "What kind of a priest are you, anyway?"

            Wolfwood chuckled, "I hear that question a lot. I wouldn't charge if it weren't for the orphanage…the church I'm from raises parentless kids, and we're low on money. I have to charge for confessions to keep the organization running, not to mention to pay my way across these wastelands. It's not easy making a living, you know."

            "I suppose it isn't. This place looks kinda run down…" Jet replied thoughtfully. "I didn't see a church around here- how did the confession business work out?"

            Meryl and Millie exchanged weary expressions as Wolfwood pulled a model of a mini church from seemingly nowhere, a coin slot carved into the steeple. 

            "With this mini-confessional! It's portable and lightweight and all you have to do is drop a coin in the slot. Each confession is one coin- you wouldn't believe how many sins people think they have. But it's my job to listen to them," Wolfwood nodded solemnly, "and if it makes them feel that much better to know they at least have my forgiveness, then so be it."

            Jet laughed. "So you _are_ a priest after all."

            "Confession is goof for the soul," Wolfwood conceded, winking a blue eye. "You're free to try it, if you'd like. I'll even let the first time be free, my friend." 

            The confessional vanished back into its hiding place and Wolfwood nudged Millie.

            "Let's go big girl."

            The pair turned toward the road, heading off toward the general store.

            Ed, springing back to life, waved a hand. "Bye-bye! Y'all come back now, ya hear?!"

            Meryl turned her grey-blue gaze to the girl and her monitor. The device was quite compact, consisting of an odd screen and the keys likened to those on her own typewriter.  While it actually resembled the typewriter, it really wasn't like anything she'd seen before.

            "What is it?"

            "Huh?" Ed looked up as though the woman spoke a foreign language. "It's a computer, silly."

            The word struck some meaning in Meryl's mind. "Lost technology…like your ship…that's amazing."

            Jet snorted, standing up from the chair. "It's not _that_ amazing where we come from. It's just everyday stuff to us. You really don't have any of this?"

            Meryl shook her head. "Not really. We have transportation- the sand steamer takes us across vast distances, and then we have jeeps and buses for shorter distances. Of course we have electricity too, but that's generated by the plants inside giant glass bulbs, like the one we saw two nights ago. That's controlled by a giant computer- much like our broadcasting system, and those are nothing but panels and big lit up buttons." She sighed wistfully, "We're far from this kind of technology again."

            "Again?" Jet and Ed asked, thinking the same thing.

            "Well we haven't always lived here on Gunsmoke…or at least humans haven't always lived here. In fact, over one hundred and thirty years ago, humankind came to this place to try and start their lives all over again. I'm not really clear on all the details, but it's a story that's been passed down through generations…somehow Earth's best technology was lost somewhere along the line.

            "The people had to start again on this desert planet, using plants for energy." She paused to gaze to the horizon. "The battle to make this place as livable as Earth supposedly was still continues to this day- but apparently this was the only planet capable of supporting us."

            Ed's and Jet's faces could only be described as stunned…perhaps as beyond stunned.  The whole story seemed a little far-fetched, but then so did coming through a wormhole and crash landing on a planet filled with loonies. However, it did explain why everyone there appeared to be human, could speak intelligible languages, ate human food, and behaved as humans do.

            "So…you never knew what Earth looked like?" Ed asked, completely in awe.  Earth had been her home planet, though due to the disaster while building the space gates, she didn't know what it'd originally looked like.

            "That was before my time. I'm hardly twenty-five." Meryl replied with a faint smile.

            Jet found it surprising that the stressed out woman could even manage a smile that small.  He wondered just what date this crash on the planet had taken place…in fact he wondered what the date was in general. However he didn't get the chance to ask it.

            "So, does it work?" Meryl gestured to the computer. 

            Ed frowned. "Nope, nope; Faye-Faye will bring back a part for Ed and we'll be back online! Ed hopes so."

            Meryl wiped imaginary dust from her hands. "I'd like to see it if you get it working again. Could I?"

            "Yup-yup!" Ed grinned cattily, amber eyes shining. 

            "Thank you." The woman nodded. Maybe the weird kid wasn't so bad after all. Actually, she could probably bear to stand Jet, as well. 

            Her eyes flickered to the sky, noticing that heavy grey clouds had moved in, turning the hue to a darker, mistier blue. 

            "Hmm…looks like rain. That hasn't happened in quite a while it'll bring some relief from the heat. I'm going inside now, see you later."

            Moments passed before a light rain began to fall from the clouds, speckling the sand with polka dots. Jet crossed his arms and spoke.

            "How long now, Ed?"

            "One hour and fifty-one minutes…ooh…Ed is still bored."

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            "Are we there yet?" Faye Valentine called out from behind her male counterparts. "I'm really getting sore, here!"

            Ahead of Faye and behind the still shouting Vash, Spike grunted his reply. "You're not the only one, Faye; I think I'm bruising cargo more precious than yours."

            The woman couldn't help but laugh, a shake of her head causing short purple hair to bob.  She didn't think Spike's "cargo" was ever much use to him.  The man only ever had one woman on his mind and it didn't seem like he'd get to her any time soon.

            Julia.  Faye scoffed to herself. It seemed as though the woman was more trouble than she was worth, really. Then again, Faye had never met Julia, so she supposed she didn't have any room to think that of her.  She sighed. Any woman who could manage to make Spike lose his cool composure and go gaga must have something special. Faye only hoped that when he found Julia again, Spike would watch his back.

            Light raindrops from the sky splashed against the tip of Faye's nose, breaking her train of thought.  She groaned softly.  The rain would flatten her hair…though it _did_ feel better than a scorching sun beating down on her skin all day.

            "Faye, look!" Spike shouted excitement evident in his voice.

            Anything that made him excited like a little boy had to be a good thing. 

            So look Faye did, following her crewmate's pointing fingers. The hulking mass of the BeBop laid in the not too far distance- a shell of monstrous metal looming over slight hills of sand.  Surely riding the Tomases had taken _much_ less time than their walk to New Oregon had a few days prior. The two BeBop members were actually thankful for that, despite sore thighs and rear ends from hard riding.  

            Vash paused in his frantic shouts- (though Spike and Faye had tuned him out quite some time ago) - and spoke up as they neared.

            "It looks like it's been spared from any looters!"

            Spike snorted- what looter would be out all the way in these wastelands?

            "I know what you're thinking," Vash prompted as his Tomas came to a jerky halt some feet from the ship, "you'd be surprised at how many goons there are roaming around out here." He wiped small drops of water from his face, "There's one in particular we might have to look out for."

            Managing a smooth stop, Spike swung from the saddle and rubbed the insides of his thighs, wincing at the dull ache. "Ow…you'd think these things would run a lot smoother, wouldn't you? So who is this person?" He stood as though oblivious to the cool rain, now steadily coming down. 

            "Brilliant Dynamites Neon; you'd know him if you saw him just by knowing that name." Vash replied before giving a startled yell. "Incoming!"

            "Huh?" Spike whipped around to see Faye's Tomas get spooked by absolutely nothing, rocketing over the sand towards him and the gunman. The young woman was clinging desperately to the long furred neck, face contorted into an expression of shock.

            "Someone stop this thing!" She cried, teeth clenching and eyes closing as she braced herself for the crash. 

            The crash never happened. In all seriousness, Vash leapt into action, the tail of his red trench coat fluttering behind him. His gloved hands deftly latched onto the reins of the wild Tomas, stopping it before it hit the ship or ran into the unmoved Spike. The Tomas let out a groan, small eyes rolling around warily at the sudden halt. Its hooves buried deep into the sand, causing Faye to yelp and lose her balance. As she slipped off the side of the saddle, she felt someone catch her easily.

            "Are you alright?" Vash asked, patting the Tomas to calm it before releasing the reins. 

            His voice had sounded so close, Faye was sure it'd been the gunman who caught her. She panted, clutching her rescuer's shirt tightly, tilting her head back. "I could've been killed! That thing went crazy on me!"

            "That isn't what he asked, Faye." 

            That voice was closer. Snapping her eyes open, Faye rested her gaze upon the face of Spike Spiegel and then realized it was her fellow crew member holding her in his arms. 

            Spike shifted uncomfortable before letting the woman onto her own two feet. He actually hadn't minded the moment until she opened her mouth.

            "I'm fine," she mumbled, blinking at Vash through the light rain. Her jade eyes flashed deadly daggers to the Tomas she'd been riding and she made a mental note to choose a different one on the way back.

            "Good," Spike quipped, "now what do you say to the nice man who saved your ass?"

            Vash grinned expectantly. Faye only grinned back, though it seemed more like a grimace. 

            "That's good enough for me," the gunman replied brightly. "You two go on in- I'll keep watch out here."

            "It's raining, you know, you can come in." Spike pointed out as he pulled the dented hatch open. 

            "Plants need water to grow."

            Faye arched a brow toward the blond, stepping up to the hatch. "What's that supposed to mean? I don't see any plants out here, unless you count the tumbleweed."

            Vash squeezed his eyes shut, tilting his face up to the sky before one eye opened to look at the woman.

            "Nothing, it's just a statement. Go on and take care of what you need to do and don't worry about things out here. I've got you covered."

            With a wary sigh, the female crewmate followed Spike through the hatch.

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            "Do you know what you need, Faye?" Spike inquired of the young woman as they ducked through the circular opening into the living quarters of the ship. "I don't intend on hiding out here all day."

            Faye turned her gaze over the contents of the ship. Obviously she'd noticed how everything had changed while Spike hadn't. 

            "Wow…" she murmured.

            The wormhole had quite a tumultuous effect on the contents of the ex-fishing ship. The lanky man let his mismatched brown eyes move over the floor in shock. The couches had been torn in half, tumbled on opposite sides of the room, the table was splintered, countless cargo crates were split or had slid to the far wall, and there were strange dents in the floor where the wormhole's gravity had applied the most pressure. 

            "Holy shit," Spike muttered. "Jet's gonna flip when he sees this. I wonder if everything looks like this."

            "I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Faye mused, crossing to the corridor and stepping into it. "I'll meet you back by the hatch in fifteen minutes. As convenient it might be to stay here I agree that I don't wanna hang around too long either."

            Nodding, Spike moved in the opposite direction. "Right…hey Faye?"

            "Yeah?" she called, already halfway down the hall. 

            "Don't you think it's strange that nothing happened to us but everything else was ripped to shreds?"

            For a moment there came no reply, and then- "…It is weird, but…don't gripe about it Fuzzy- better the ship than us, right?" 

            Spike had no chance to think of a comeback because Faye had already resumed walking, her heels clicking against the walkway steadily. He sighed, putting his hands in his pockets before continuing on to collect the bare necessities.

            *                                                           *                                                           *

            Outside, the rain continued to steadily fall from the hazy sky, and Vash the Stampede enjoyed every moment of it. Very rarely did the sun disappear behind clouds filled with cool water and so when a rainfall came, the people of Gunsmoke found it a blessing. 

            To Vash, the precipitation symbolized hope.  There was hope that life could prosper and grow into something as lush and beautiful as the rec. room had been on the Project S.E.E.D.S. ship.  Everything in there had been brimming with life even though it'd been contained onboard the ship moving through space. 

            "And all of it was lost…" Vash whispered, remembering the horrible events that had followed his twin brother's insanity. "It'll happen again," he added, moving a hand to brush his cheeks.  There had been tears there, though if anyone had seen him they'd never have been able to differentiate them from the rain drops on his face. 

            The quiet moment didn't last too much longer. As Vash leaned against the metal of the ship's hull, a blaring rift of music echoed muffled through the air. His aqua eyes flew open, hand immediately moving to his side, reaching for the silver gun packed away, and his form spun away from the ship, facing a large sand dune on the right. 

            "What the…?" Vash stumbled as the ground rumbled again with another riling rift of music. The sound was vivacious, jazzy, and something the blond spiky haired man would never forget hearing. "Midvalley!"

            Sure enough the Master Saxer, donned in his pink and black outfit with the bronze instrument strapped to his shoulder was standing atop the dune. There was undoubtedly an evil glint in his eyes. 

            "And so we meet again, Vash the Stampede. Tell me, isn't this a splendid day to die?"

            Vash grunted in reply, un-holstering his gun. "Actually, I find the rain a little too dreary for that. The day I die I hope its sunny outside and I'm in the middle of a green patch of land. So you see that day can't be today."

            Midvalley laughed, "I'm not here to kill you- not so soon after our last meeting." He put a hand up and waved. 

            "Huh?" Vash's eyes widened to see ten men walk up from behind the saxophonist, all armed with long ranged rifles, all with a greedy eye for Vash's bounty.

            "Meet your new friends, Vash the Stampede- I think you'll enjoy trying to escape them without taking their lives." Midvalley chuckled and nodded once before playing the sax again, his tune having changed to accommodate the missing B-flat note on the brass. 

            At once the men slid down the sand dune, all randomly firing shots at Vash. With a yell, Vash did his best to evade their shots, skittering about the grainy terrain, leaving heavy footprints in the rain clogged ground. 

            "Hey! Can't we talk about this! I'd really hate to have to hurt you all, you know!" 

            The men surrounded the gunman in no time, none of them speaking, all of them sneering. Vash arched an eyebrow, putting his hands up and dropped his weapon to the ground. He laughed awkwardly.

            "Ah-ha-ha! Can't we talk this out fellas? You don't want that stupid bounty, really, I'm more trouble than its worth…why aren't you saying anything? Hey, this is really creepy!"

            Midvalley the Horn Freak continued playing until the ground began to shake around the base of the BeBop. Vash turned his gaze quickly towards the ship.

            'Oh no…if he keeps going the whole thing will go underground!' Vash thought to him self, worry crossing his face. 'I gotta figure this out…and what is up with these bounty hunters? They look so fake…like…puppets.'

            Suddenly Vash knew what was going on. His eyes narrowed and he called out over the music. "Midvalley- you can't keep this up. Kiss your friends good-bye!"

            Ten rifles cocked in preparation to shoot Vash if he made a move. Midvalley stopped playing.

            "Oh really- how do you think you can get out of this one? If you move…they'll shoot you. Not to mention you've dropped your weapon- it'll take you too much time to pick it up."

            Vash grinned, "I've gotten out of predicaments much worse than this one." He spun around, his left hand making a strange clicking noise as it disconnected from his wrist, moving forward, down, and then over to reveal a hidden gun. 

            Midvalley certainly had not seen this coming and stared before glaring over his shoulder at a figure unseen to those down the hill. Gunshots sounded rapidly and by the time the Saxer looked again, there were ten puppets in the shape of men lying limply in a heap in the sand. The rain poured down a bit harder, making Vash's figure difficult to discern amongst the ruins of the faux bounty hunting team. Only a fluttering red coat could be clearly seen.

            "They weren't real…they were a little too rigid to be real men," Vash's voice echoed up to Midvalley. "I suggest you leave before you get hurt too."

            "Damn." Midvalley grunted then turned around. Without proper back-up there was no way he wanted to take on the Stampede again. However, as he walked away, he continued playing his saxophone, causing a wall of rain packed sand to rise and slam down in front of the gunman.

            Vash groaned, running from the rolling wall of sand then a shot fired and he fell to his knees. Somehow one of the rifles had gone off…and a bullet was lodged deep in the back of his right shoulder. He screamed loudly just as Spike and Faye returned from the inside of the ship.

            The green haired lanky man blinked in confusion, seeing nothing but a heap of sand and Vash on his knees, screaming.

            "What the hell is going on out here?" 

            Vash stopped screaming and got to his feet a bit shakily. He noticed the wall of sand had so conveniently covered up the trashed puppets. It figured. 

            Faye moved to a Tomas- unbeknownst to her it was exactly the same one she'd ridden to the ship- and slung a bulky knapsack over the saddle before looking to Vash.

            "You're bleeding!"

            "So you do care!" Vash grinned, staggering to the pair. The wound hurt something terrible- his shoulder was throbbing and he could actually feel the rain dripping into it. At least he knew the bullet had passed clear through.

            He didn't get to hear Faye answer his comment- instead, he felt dizzy and his knees gave out, body hitting the ground and darkness consuming him.

            Spike arched a brow. "I bet he shot himself on accident…I don't see anyone else here."

            "Think he'll live?" Faye asked nudging Vash with her shoe.

            "Yeah…he's just a wimp, that's all. It looked like a pretty clean shot. Let's load him up and hope we can find our way back."

            "Well, wouldn't it be better to wait inside the BeBop till he comes to? I mean, what if we get lost?"

            Spike was already pulling Vash up to a Tomas. "And what if there's someone hanging around here waiting to pounce? I think we went pretty straightforward, Faye. He'll come to either way. Let's just go."

            The woman sighed, giving in. She wasn't going to be left behind, and she knew that Spike would definitely leave without her. She climbed onto the Tomas and gave a longing last look to the BeBop before the trio rode off, nobody noticing the barrel of a rifle sticking out of the sand only a few yards away…

KK- I'm a bit late here on this but here is the answer to Ed's impersonation!

Judy, from Big Shot!! You should have remembered that Spike and Jet were referring to Millie's voice sounding like someone familiar, and so Ed could only have been impersonating a female. The only one fitting that description is of course, Judy. ^_^ I thought of this while remembering that Lia Sargent is the VA for both Judy and Millie on CB and Trigun- a bit of trivia for you anime fans out there!

Kudos to these who knew the answer!

Thai Matrix and Outis! XD  


End file.
